


Like Air to the Fire

by Leela



Category: Adam Lambert (Musician), Tommy Ratliff (Musician)
Genre: Alpha/Beta Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Claiming, Knotting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-23
Updated: 2012-08-23
Packaged: 2017-11-12 18:13:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/494200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leela/pseuds/Leela
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tommy was not some shrinking twit of a beta, waiting for a big bad alpha to come along and save his pack. If he was going to fucking have to roll over and show his belly, then the alpha damn well better be good enough to earn his submission. And if none of them were up to the challenge, he would figure out how to make it through this full moon without being claimed and the entire goddamn council could go fuck themselves. No fucking way they were breaking up his family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like Air to the Fire

**Author's Note:**

  * For [zoodlemouse13](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=zoodlemouse13).



> **Betas** : aislinntlc, eeyore9990, minxie, batdina
> 
>  **A/N** : Written for the sweet and wonderful @zoodlemouse13, who bid on one of my offers and then made a lovely donation to Adam Lambert's charity water in return for my agreeing to write a story of about 3,000 words. Apparently, I'm really bad at math. ;) 
> 
> The title and all of the section titles are from the lyrics to _By the Rules_ , written and sung by Adam Lambert on his Trespassing UK album. If you don't own this CD, why not? Seriously, it's that good.
> 
>  **Mix** : the lovely @valress made a mix for this story. [Listen to and/or download the music she put to my words](http://valress.livejournal.com/72655.html).

**1\. Our planets align**

"Fuck no." Tommy pushed his long bangs out of his face and stalked over to the window. He so didn't want to look at the fucking council rep and her oh-so-fucking-perfectly understanding expression. "How can you even—" He cut himself off before he crossed too far over the line. Despite his sister's opinion, he did have some common sense.

If only his wolf would calm the fuck down and stop twisting him around. He rubbed at his nose, cursed the scent of alpha — of _not-quite-right_ alpha — that was sending him right to the edge. It had come in with their visitor and her escort, and he was fucked if he could figure out who it was coming from.

Behind him, he could hear soft murmurings as his mother and the council rep talked. What the fuck was her name anyway? Alpha of the Lambert clan was all he could remember. He worried at his lower lip, trying to distract himself from the noises in the room. The shuffling of feet, some lower-pitched grumbling, were followed by an ungentle closing of the door that pushed Tommy into moving.

His home or not, it was clear that he wouldn't be allowed to leave the room. So he pulled the curtains back and slipped into the window seat. Crossing his legs, he leaned back against the wall. The heavy fabric fell around him, separating him from the rest of the house. With the night outside, he felt safe, cocooned for a brief moment.

Until the curtains swayed and he looked up to see the council rep sitting opposite him. She was short and slender. Her long, wavy dark hair tempted him in a way that he couldn't quite understand. She was too old, too wrong for him. He turned his head to stare outside, to distract himself by filling in the details of their back yard that were hidden by dark shadows.

"We've given you as much time as we could." She touched his knee. Her hand felt soft and warm, almost comfortable through his jeans. "I was hoping you'd find someone on your own."

His nose twitched, and he sneezed. Again and again. His whole body seemed to convulse with each sneeze, and he muttered, "Fucking allergies," even though he was pretty sure she knew allergies had nothing to do with why his nose was itching, that it was her scent. He sniffed and rubbed his nose with the sleeve of his hoodie.

To his relief, she didn't say a word about it. "Do you have a preference about which alphas we invite?" she asked. "I don't want to make this any harder on you than it has to be."

Tommy bit his lower lip, dragged his teeth over the skin before releasing it. "There's someone," he said, feeling helpless, frustrated by how close it all was and how far away. "They're my preference." He ducked his head, letting his hair fall down in front of his face, and ran his hands over his arms. "Whoever the fuck they are."

"Oh, honey." There was sympathy in Leila's voice, the kind that could break Tommy if he let it. "Your pack can't wait much longer for an alpha. It's fraying at the edges already. The two years to the next gathering—" She hesitated before saying, "They won't last that long."

Tommy sighed and tightened his hands around his biceps. "I can feel them, you know. The pack's like deep inside me, under my skin. Everyone's pulling me in a different direction, and it hurts so damn much that I can't fucking give them what they need." Tommy didn't know why he was sharing that with a complete stranger, something he wasn't able to tell his mother or his best friend. "It hurts."

The cushion shifted beneath him as she moved. Her hand briefly pressed into his knee, forcing him to take some of her weight, and then it was gone and she was hugging him. It was awkward and uncomfortable. Tommy ended up leaning forward into her, his instincts fighting with his urge to pull away, to protest that he was not a child in need of soothing. He was an adult, damn it.

But she was an alpha, and Tommy hadn't realized how much he'd needed an alpha's touch until he laid his head on her shoulder and she started stroking his back. It had been nearly two years since his dad had died unexpectedly, and he'd had to hold everything, _everyone_ , together all that time. Alone.

)()(

The house was quiet when Adam arrived. He threw his jacket on a hook and kicked off his boots. After a moment's pause, he pulled off his socks as well, stuffing them into his boots before walking barefoot down the hall. His brother was already there, as was his mother; he could feel them.

When he got to the kitchen, he leaned against the doorjamb and watched for a few seconds. His mom had her back to him as she made tea. Neil was half in the fridge, bent over, digging something out from a bottom shelf. One corner of his mouth curling up, Adam tiptoed across the floor, making almost no noise, swatted Neil's ass, and jumped back out of the way.

"Ow. Fuck." Neil jerked upright and started to swing around at the same time. His head hit the edge of a shelf. "Adam, you're such an asshole." 

"Missed you, too." Adam flipped him off, snickering, and wandered over to kiss his mom. 

Leila smiled and rolled her eyes at them. "One of these days," she said, handing Adam a couple of mugs of tea, "you two are going to surprise everyone and act like grown-ups." 

"Oh, hell no." Sitting at the kitchen table, Neil placed the food he'd brought from the fridge in a semi-circle around him and pulled off the lids. The smell of hummus filled the air as Neil tore up a pita and started eating. 

Putting a mug down in front of Neil, right on top of his pita, Adam snagged a handful of snap peas. He avoided Neil's slap, slumped down in the chair at the end of the table, within easy reach of the food, and said, "You'd just worry if we were nice to each other." 

"Sadly, I think you're right." Settling into the seat opposite Adam, Leila examined Neil and then Adam, as if she was looking for something. 

Self-conscious under his mom's steady gaze, Adam ran his index finger around the rim of his mug, then began to twist the skull ring on that finger. He looked up, directly into her eyes, and could feel his cheeks start to flush. Stupid redhead complexion giving him away again. Envy of her and Neil's darker skin swamped him again, and he reached up to touch his hair, reassuring himself with the texture left by the hair dye, the stiffness of hairspray. 

"The council is calling a gathering," Leila said, and Neil almost knocked over his mug. 

"I don't think so."

Leila turned to Neil, one eyebrow raised. "What makes you think it's for you?"

A stupid urge to rescue Neil from whatever was going on had Adam saying, "Why else call us here?" And even as he asked the question, Adam knew the answer. "You've got a pack that needs an alpha."

"Pack?" Neil drummed his fingers on the table, and Adam could see him running through all the packs that fell under their mom's jurisdiction. "Ratliff's the only pack on this coast without an alpha," Neil said, "and I'm not interested."

"She doesn't have to give you a choice," Adam pointed out.

"Ratliff's beta is male." Neil bit into a carrot with a vicious snap of his teeth.

Feeling off-balance, like his heart just skipped a beat, Adam said, "If he's a match, he could be a purple Martian and your wolf wouldn't give a shit."

"I'd give a shit. Just like you would if someone tried to mate you to a female beta."

"Fuck you." Adam tossed his last pea at Neil. "I've kissed a girl before."

"Oooooh... aren't you daring?"

"Boys." Leila's voice was quiet, but her tone made Adam want to back down. And he didn't fucking do that for anyone.

He didn't then either. Instead, he asked, "Is it the Ratliff beta?" And then, after Leila's nod, he added, "They're in Burbank?"

 _They're close_ were the words he couldn't speak, because his wolf was already stirring, raising as many goosebumps on his skin as he had freckles. He licked his suddenly dry lips, took a sip of his tea, and didn't argue when Neil announced, "Adam's going."

)()(

A swath of silk was laid across Tommy's bed, gleaming white against his black comforter and battered black duffel bag. Pink and yellow and green twisted and swirled around the edges of the fabric. He blinked, but it didn't go away. It formed into a long jacket he'd only seen in photographs and paintings.

"No." He shook his head and backed up a step, into the doorway. "No fucking way." 

"Yes way." Lisa poked her head out of his closet and scowled at him. "You have to. It's tradition, you know. Every clan beta has worn it. For, like, years and years and years." 

Instead of replying, Tommy moved over to the bed and picked up the jacket. He ran his hand over the raw silk. It wasn't as smooth as he'd expected. His calluses caught on the rougher spots. The embroidery was neat, almost perfect, but with enough unevenness that he could tell it was handmade. Some beta had spent hours and hours on the jacket, bent over a needle. The thought totally blew his mind. The jacket repulsed him.

"Besides," she said, coming over and digging her elbow in his side, "Mom and I spent ages cleaning and ironing that thing. The least you can do is wear it." 

"That's so not gonna happen."

"The alpha will—" 

"—accept me as I fucking am or not at all." Tommy threw the jacket down, letting it fall crumpled on the bed. "I'm not going to give up my soul, pretend to be something I'm not, just to please some fucker who got lucky in the gene pool." 

"Tommy, that's not how..." Lisa sighed and turned into him, hugging him tightly. 

He wrapped his arms around her and held on, breathing in her comfort, the scent of family. And underneath it all, her fear. Another need rose up in him, to comfort her, to get her to stop worrying, to take care of his sister, his family, his pack.

"It'll be fine," he said, putting more conviction than he felt behind the words. After a few seconds, when she pulled away and swatted at him, he caught her hand. "I'll be fine. I just won't wear—" his nose wrinkled and his upper lip curled as he struggled to find a word that wasn't an insult "—that."

"You're hopeless, you know that, right?" 

Summoning up something like a smile for her, Tommy shrugged. "I'm just me." 

For a second or two, Tommy thought she was going to say something else, but then Lisa seemed to give herself a mental shake and she smiled at him. "Okay, so if you're not taking this—" she picked up the jacket and held it against him "—totally unflattering thing, you, like, have to find something else to wear, you know." 

"Fine." He stalked over to his closet, went right to the back, grabbed at a couple of things he'd never worn, and tossed them at her. "I'll wear these." 

"But they're—"

"What I'll wear," he interrupted her, "and the alpha who wins me will have to accept it. Seriously. If me wearing dark colors to the greeting ceremony at the gathering isn't acceptable... well, fuck 'em." 

"It's not traditional." Lisa made a face at him and began folding the silky purple shirt. 

"I'm not traditional." Tommy walked up behind her, slipped his arms around her waist, and rested his chin on her shoulder. "And since when did you care about that shit anyway?"

"Asshole, I'm trying to make sure you don't embarrass us here." She elbowed him in the stomach and shook him off. 

"Ow. Shit." Tommy rubbed his stomach and scowled at her. "I don't get how it could be embarrassing for me to wear whatever the fuck I want." Tommy ran his hand through his hair. "Besides, the fucking gathering's going to set off every goddamn instinct we have. They wouldn't give a shit if I turned up in like—" he paused, trying to come up with something utterly horrendous and settled for "—granddad's old golf gear."

Saying the words out loud sent a wash of nervousness through Tommy. He wasn't a typical pack beta by any stretch of the imagination. Even the few other male betas he'd met were more... normal? Clean-cut? He wasn't sure either word was totally right but whatever. He just didn't fucking fit in, didn't want to fucking fit in. Biting his lip, Tommy wandered over to where his guitars stood and ran his fingers over the strings of his acoustic. 

The sound sent an ache shivering through him. What if the alpha didn't like music? He shook his head and wrapped a hand around the strings, silencing them. No fucking way. He might as well stop breathing.

A soft click made him blink, turn around. He was alone in the room. For a moment, he contemplated calling out, bringing his sister back so he wasn't stuck with the thoughts, the worry, whirling through his brain. Then he shrugged and picked up his Jag. Plugging it into the mini-amp, he grabbed a pick from the bowl on a nearby shelf, settled on the floor, cross-legged, and began to play. Soft and gentle at first, then drawing the sounds out, longer and longer, until the music was wailing the fear he couldn't speak out loud.

)()(

"I don't care how low you have to grovel or what you have to promise. I can't do an interview or photo shoot tomorrow. Reschedule them." Phone to his ear, Adam paced in and out of the French doors that opened out from his den to the back deck, moving between sun-faded stained wood that was warm under his bare feet to cooler hardwood. "No, I'm not available the day after the full moon either. This month I need extra time."

He didn't bother listening to what Cassie, his manager, had to say. It didn't matter. He'd been summoned to a gathering and that was that. She'd just have to deal.

"I understand," he said when she stopped to breathe. "The timing's shitty and it's a royal pain in your ass, but I don't have a choice. I'll be unavailable for three days before the full moon, starting the day after tomorrow, and up to two days afterwards." He paused and thought for a second. He'd either be celebrating or recovering — or both. "Make that three days after. You can book me back to back on the fourth day if you need to. And, yes, I owe you big time for this one."

Seconds after he'd thumbed off his phone, Adam's front door opened. His heart thumped, hard and fast. His hackles rose. Biting back a growl, he stepped silently into the den, and lifted his head to sniff the air.

 _Neil_. 

"Asshole," Adam muttered, as he tried to shake off the tingling. "Make yourself at home, why don't you?"

"Here." Neil strode into Adam's living room and tossed a flash drive at him. "And don't bother thanking me. I wouldn't want you to sprain something."

Adam turned the drive over in his fingers a couple of times then looked up at Neil. "What?"

"Everything you never even considered wanting to know about the Ratliff beta." Neil sprawled onto the couch. "Check out the pictures folder first. Then talk to me."

"Why—"

Neil pointed a finger at Adam and then at his laptop, which was sitting on the coffee table. "Look, don't talk."

Snapping his teeth at Neil, who just waved his hand in a _yeah, yeah_ gesture, Adam picked up his laptop and flopped into his chair. He considered and discarded several retorts as he navigated through to the first picture. When it opened, he stared for a second or two, before his words returned. "Fuck," he said. "Where has this guy been hiding?"

"Burbank. Keep going." Neil sat up, resting his forearms on his knees, and focused on Adam. His eyes shone with a disturbing intensity, and he had a gleeful _I know something you don't know_ expression on his face.

If he'd been able to wrest his attention away from his laptop screen, Adam would have smacked Neil. But he'd reached the last picture in the folder. It had been taken with a shitty camera phone and was clearly the one that Neil wanted him to see. 

Despite the fuzziness of the image, Adam found himself reaching out to run a finger down the line of Ratliff's back. The beta was sitting on a carpeted floor, legs crossed under him, bent over an electric guitar. Dyed blond hair fell forward, covering one side of his face and exposing a partially shaved scalp. His one visible eye was closed, and he was biting his lower lip. 

Lost in whatever music he was creating, Adam thought, and just like that, he wanted to know more about the man. He glanced up and, for once, didn't care that Neil looked so self-satisfied.

"Did you get audio?"

"Duh. Video too. Off YouTube." 

About to click on a file titled Killer.mp4, Adam hesitated. "I'm fucked, aren't I?"

"Yes, you most definitely are."

"You don't have to sound so happy about it."

Neil snorted. "What kind of brother would I be if I wasn't?"

"Bastard."

"And yet you love me. What does that say about you?" Neil stood up, walked over to where Adam was sitting and leaned on the back of his chair. "Click on the files, listen to him, and then we'll plan how you're going to win."

)()(

**2\. You pull like the sea**

Tommy stood off to the side of the window, one hand still twisted in the long dark purple velvet curtain he'd hidden behind to watch the alphas arrive. Their presence had changed everything. The building had gone from feeling overwhelmingly large as he wandered around that morning to too damn tight and closed in. His head pounded and his skin tingled from the sheer quantity of alpha what-the-fuck in the air. 

Swallowing hard, Tommy slid down the wall to sit on the floor and rested his forehead against his bent knees. Every breath filled his mouth, his nose, his lungs with a suffocating mix of dust from the curtains and musk from the alphas in the next room. 

He was so fucked. 

At that thought, rebellion flooded through him. He was not some shrinking twit of a beta, waiting for a big bad alpha to come along and save his pack. If he was going to fucking have to roll over and show his belly, then the alpha damn well better be good enough to earn his submission. And if none of them were up to the challenge, Tommy would figure out how to make it through this full moon without being claimed and the entire goddamn council could go fuck themselves. No fucking way they were breaking up his family. 

Throwing the curtain aside, Tommy pushed himself up from the floor and dusted his hands off on his black leather pants. He'd just taken a step towards the door when it opened and a guy who was even shorter than Tommy slipped inside the room. 

"What the hell," Tommy said. "This is my space right now."

"Hi, I'm Isaac." The guy held out a hand that was strong, calloused, and warm in Tommy's. "Sorry I'm late, but I was stuck in the airport in Rome for hours. The airline was worse than useless too. If they'd delayed my flight another couple of hours, I was going to have to unpack my cajón and start busking for Euros to pay for dinner. Can't sing for shit, though, so I might have starved anyway." 

A drummer, Tommy thought, grinning at him. "Or, even worse, been arrested for panhandling." 

"That would've been just my luck, too." Isaac rolled his eyes. "Getting to spend the full moon in an Italian jail cell, and then coming home to a finger-shaking lecture from Leila about letting her down." Isaac shuddered dramatically. "She'd have been all disappointed and stuff, giving me that _understanding_ look."

"Dude, that is a scary image."

"You have no idea," Isaac said. "Not quite a fate worse than death, but I don't need to live through it twice. 

An awkward pause settled between them while Tommy waited for an explanation that never came. After a few seconds, he asked, "So... like... Leila wants you here because...?" 

"Oh, hey, yeah." Glancing around, Isaac went over to curl up in a corner of a couch. He patted the cushion next to him. "Might as well make yourself comfortable." 

Wary of yet another surprise, Tommy moved around to sit in a chair that let him keep an eye on Isaac and the door. He examined Isaac more closely, took in his compact body and self-assurance, the way he projected calm and comfort but not arrogance or authority. "You're beta council," he said. It wasn't quite a question, but he wasn't absolutely sure enough to make it a statement either.

"And I'm on your side," Isaac said. "No one else's, not even Leila's." 

Tommy frowned and glanced down at the polish on his nails. "What does that even mean?"

"It means that, no matter what anyone else tells you, even Leila, you don't have to leave here mated." Isaac leaned forward, his expression and voice intense. "Tell me how you feel about these alphas. If you or your wolf doesn't trust any or all of them, I'll get them disqualified. Fuck it, I'll get all of them tossed out on their asses if that's the way your instincts roll."

"And what then?" Tommy scowled. "I get to go home and let the council dismantle my pack? Or even better, we should go outlaw and just fucking hope that no asshole with more ambition than sense decides to climb over us on his way up the pack ladder?" Unable to just sit still, he flung himself out of the chair and stalked back over to the window. "I can't fucking do that, okay? They're my family, my friends. I just can't fucking do that to them."

"That won't happen."

Pivoting on one heel, Tommy spun around and glared at Isaac. "How the hell would you know? You're not mated. You're not even pack beta."

Isaac uncoiled himself from the couch and stood up, suddenly appearing bigger than he was. "I'm the head of the beta council. If I declare this gathering over, it's a done deal." 

"Then what?"

"Then we'll regroup, figure out what kind of alpha you need, and call another gathering."

"You could have, like, talked to me before calling this one." Bitterness laced Tommy's voice. "But what the fuck, you know. Everyone knows the only good beta is a mated beta." 

And before Isaac could say anything else, before he could lose his nerve again, Tommy stormed across the room, grabbed the door handle, and flung the door open. It banged against the stopper. All of the conversation in the other room died, and everyone turned to look at him. 

Tommy stood there for a second, fighting the urge to stare down at his feet, to hide behind his bangs. For want of anything better, he said, "Hi," and forced himself to smile, to radiate challenge rather than fear. 

A ripple went through the crowd, and a few of the alphas shifted towards him. The rest looked at him curiously. Tommy tilted his head, pulled his lower lip into his mouth, and glanced from one to the other, meeting their eyes for a moment before moving on. He was caught by the intense gaze from a pair of blue eyes when a hand on his arm jolted him out of what felt like a trance. 

"Come on," Isaac said, smiling at him with understanding. "Let's get this over with."

With Isaac at his side, they approached the first group of two men and one woman. A sour, overheated scent caught at Tommy's nose, his stomach twisted, and he stopped. "No," he said. "Not them." 

"All of them?"

Shrugging, Tommy just repeated, "No." He couldn't explain, didn't want to get any closer to any of those fucking creeps. 

One of the alphas, his brown hair bound in a tight braid, took a step forward. Tommy took one back. His skin prickled in warning as the alpha moved even closer. His eyes seemed to burn into Tommy's. 

His hands curled into claws, Tommy snarled, "What part of no didn't you fucking get?" 

The alpha paused, staring at him, then made a gesture of dismissal. "You ain't that pretty, boy," he said, and walked away. Several others followed in his wake. 

Tommy exchanged a glance with Isaac, who patted him on the shoulder. 

Before they could move on to the next group, a tall thin man swayed towards them. He wore heeled boots, narrow-legged white pants, and a brightly colored gauzy tunic that glittered with every movement. Reaching out, he placed a finger under Tommy's chin and raised it. "Such a gorgeously fierce little bitch," he said. "I do believe I'll stick around for this one." 

A smile curved Tommy's lips, and he had to resist the urge to curl into the alpha's side. "Yeah, I think I'd like that." 

"Sutan Amrull," the alpha said, moving his hand down to clasp Tommy's. "Unless I'm Raja." 

"Tommy Joe Ratliff, but I guess you know that."

"Much better to be properly introduced." Sutan took up a position at Tommy's side and laid an arm over his shoulders. "Now enough of this ridiculous promenade. We should be courting you." He glanced around. "Ah, that will have to do."

Before Tommy could object, he was dragged across the room and pushed into a throne-like armchair, the kind his grandma loved with all the flowers and shit. Sutan manhandled Isaac into standing next to Tommy like some kind of fucked up guard and then went to perch on the opposite arm. 

"One at a time," Sutan said, with an imperious gesture, "and for fuck's sake, people, don't be like that asshole. No means no."

"We'll consider ourselves schooled," a woman said in a Southern accent that sent a thrill through Tommy. She flipped her dark red hair out of her face and placed one hand on her hip, posing for him. "Anika Roy, and I rather hope your answer is yes." 

She was gorgeous. Tiny with a curvy body, just the way Tommy liked his women. Despite the trickle of _she'll be bad for you_ that ran through his mind, or maybe because of it, he was interested enough to say, "Yes." 

A smile on her face, she bent down and kissed his cheek. "My friends call me Ani," she said, and moved away.

After Ani, the receiving line moved quickly. No one else tried to kiss him or even touch him. Three made his wolf whine, one had him wanting to curl up in a ball, but Tommy resisted both urges and they accepted his rejection without argument. Most, though, might as well have been human. Even this close to the full moon, he didn't react to them at all. They obviously felt the same way, just nodding and wandering off to help themselves to the free booze and food, clearly not planning to stick around. 

There was one more woman, Sophie, who was cute and sweet, and seemed more interested in Isaac than Tommy. That more than anything persuaded Tommy to say yes and invite her to stick around. Given a choice, he was not going to be the only one getting fucked by the end of this gathering.

He was still smiling over that thought when a man came to stand in front of him. He wore black leather pants, wedge-heeled boots that made him even taller, and when Tommy looked up, he found himself staring into the same blue eyes that had caught him earlier. 

"I'm Adam," the guy said. 

_Lambert_ , Tommy's mind supplied, along with a burst of music, and then _the motherfucking singer_. His eyes caught on the freckles visible through Adam's lip gloss, Tommy managed a barely coherent "Umm... yeah" before his brain froze over, which was totally not the impression he wanted to make on the guy.

"And we'll take that as a yes, darlings," Sutan said into the silence that followed.

"You would," Adam said, with a mixture of amusement and annoyance in his voice.

Sutan rose to his feet with a grace that Tommy envied and held out his hand. Tommy was reaching out to take it, when Adam growled. It was low and quiet, and Tommy was sure that no one beyond the four of them heard it. 

Acting on instinct, Tommy placed his hands on the arms of his chair and pushed himself upright. He turned to Isaac, who was standing there with his arms shoved into his pockets, looking casual but clearly on alert. "I want a glass of red wine," Tommy said. "Beer would be good, too. I'm not that picky."

"I could do with a drink myself." Isaac held out his arm. "Shall we?"

"Yeah." And with only the tiniest twinge of concern, Tommy turned his back on the two alphas. He took Isaac's arm, and they headed over to the bar. The back of Tommy's neck just about fucking crawled with the intensity of being watched by the alphas.

)()(

Adam tugged at his ear, pressed on the spacer just a little too hard, using the slight pain to ground himself. He'd been around more alphas in his life, but these alphas wanted something, _someone_ , who should be his. And that made all the difference.

The feeling had started when he'd seen Tommy Ratliff's picture, increased every single time he'd laid eyes on Tommy, even just looking over and catching a glimpse of him on the other side of the room. Now, in this dining room, with the ritual drink bubbling in his veins, stirring his instincts, it was all he could do not to push forward and grab Tommy. Haul him out of the room and away from the other alphas. That was the quickest way to lose though, and Adam was not going to fucking lose this one.

Lowering his hand, he contemplated his nails. The beds ached with the need to allow his claws out, to swipe and slash and fight. The dark blue polish was beginning to chip at the edges. He curled his fingers inward and the silver sparkles caught the light from the obnoxiously tacky chandelier. 

"The bitch about gatherings, darling," Sutan said, sliding an arm around Adam's waist, "is that you have to see them all the way through even if you think you've found your mate on the first day."

"You're not going to make this easy, are you?"

"Of course not, where's the fun in that?"

"But you'll let me win?" Adam phrased it as a question, but he wasn't really asking.

"If he wants you."

Adam leaned into Sutan, resting his head on Sutan's shoulder, careful not to get make-up on his clothes. Adam's gaze returned to where Tommy was standing with the two female alphas. _No challenge_ , his wolf insisted. But then Ani giggled, pressing herself against Tommy, smiling up at him, and a growl escaped from between Adam's clenched jaws.

"I do understand the urge, but Tommy Joe Ratliff looks perfectly capable of fighting his own battles." Sutan tightened his arm around Adam's waist, holding him in place. "Just give him a chance."

"Bitch," Adam muttered, not completely sure whether he was talking about Ani or Sutan. 

"Love you, too." Sutan turned and kissed Adam's temple.

"I should hate you." 

"Only the truly tasteless and bland hate Raja, darling, and you've never been either."

A laugh bubbled out of Adam, growing louder as he saw Tommy push Ani away. Tommy looked over and a small smile brightened his face. Then he glanced between Adam and Sutan, eyes lingering at Adam's waist and Sutan's hand. His smile dimmed into a confused frown, and he cocked his head, a question in his eyes.

Straightening up, Adam disentangled himself from Sutan. As soon as he put space between them, Tommy's smile returned and he began walking towards them. 

When Tommy stopped, just far enough away that Adam couldn't reach out and touch him, Adam said, "Hi."

"Hi." Tommy looked awkward, standing there. His hands twitched, as if they were seeking something. He was thin, but not as tiny as Adam had imagined when Tommy had been sitting in the chair earlier. Clunky creepers added a couple of inches to his height, and the makeup on his face drew attention to his eyes and lips. 

They were silent for a few seconds. Adam considered and discarded a hundred things to say, finally settling on the one thing that made him feel the least stupid. "You play guitar," he said.

Tommy shrugged and his hair fell back into his face. "Yeah, a bit." 

"More than a bit. I've seen some of the vids on YouTube." 

Biting his lip, Tommy looked up at Adam through his bangs, sending _want_ curling down Adam's spine. Adam took a step forward, reached out, and brushed Tommy's bangs out of his eyes. The pulse in Tommy's temple beat against the tips of Adam's fingers. 

Adam raised his other hand, cupped Tommy's jaw, and rubbed his thumb over Tommy's cheekbone. Tommy's scent filled the air between them as Tommy leaned into Adam's touch. 

Clearing his throat, making them both jump, Sutan said, "While I hate to interrupt this oh-so scintillating conversation, there's a drink or six over there calling my name." And he sailed off, gauzy top fluttering in his wake. 

A giggle burst out of Tommy. "Damn, but he's something else," he said. "I think I like him."

Before he could think, Adam reacted. His grip tightened on Tommy's jaw and he moved right into Tommy's space. Close enough to feel the slight tremors running through Tommy's body, to sense the struggle going on inside him. 

And then, just as Adam thought Tommy was going to submit, Tommy placed his hands on Adam's forearms, kissed the side of Adam's mouth, and pushed away. 

As if caught on a string, Adam followed him only to stop when Tommy shook his head. 

"I'm, like, never that easy," Tommy said, giving him an odd half-smile, and then added, "It's totally not worth it unless you earn it," before walking away.

Forcing himself to stay in place this time, Adam turned and watched Tommy leave the room. Once he was out of sight, Adam gave into the instincts he'd been fighting, licking the corner of his mouth and lifting his hands to his face to breathe in the scent that Tommy had left on them. He looked up from that into Ani's eyes, dark with fury and something else that Adam could feel from across the room. 

Adam bared his teeth, and continuing to meet Ani's eyes, slowly sucked the thumb that he'd rubbed over Tommy's skin into his mouth. Then, turning his back on her in a deliberate insult, he headed for his room.

)()(

"I have to, like, spend time with every single one of them today?" Tommy stopped in the foyer and stared at Isaac in horror. "Goddamn it, why am I always the last to know about these things?"

"Let me guess," Isaac said, "you weren't paying attention when the elders were teaching pack lore." 

"They handed out books, you know. Fucking thick ones." Tommy made a face. "Wasn't much point in reading up on that stuff until I needed to know it. And I didn't exactly get a load of warning for this, did I?"

"Look at it this way, if you can't spend an hour or two with someone, you definitely can't spend a lifetime with them."

"I sup—" Tommy yawned "—pose." He fucking hated having to get up in the morning, especially after a bad night. He'd just been falling asleep when Isaac had bounced in to wake him up. Fucking morning people, Tommy hated every last one of them. At least Isaac had had the decency to show up with coffee. He yawned again.

"Am I keeping you awake?" Sophie sounded amused. 

"Umm... no?" Tommy just about snatched the travel mug out of her hands. He brought it to his nose and breathed in deeply. Coffee. Fucking wonderful coffee. It was hot and bitter and black and perfect. He took a sip and hummed in appreciation. Then he looked up to see Isaac and Sophie staring at him and had to resist the urge to check and see if he'd spilled down his front. "What?" 

"Nothing," Sophie said, reaching for the door handle. "Shall we?"

"Yeah." Isaac grinned and bounced on his toes. 

Pulling his sunglasses down off the top of his head and settling them on his nose, Tommy clutched his mug and kept his mouth shut as he followed them out the door and down a side path. He stumbled a little as the stones gave way to dirt, seriously fucking glad that he hadn't argued too much with Isaac over wearing his ratty chucks instead of his creepers. A sprained or broken ankle was, like, the last thing he needed. A hand on his arm made him stop short. "Huh?"

Sophie gestured ahead of him. "Didn't think you'd want to walk into that tree."

Tommy blinked at the very large trunk that he could have sworn hadn't been there, like, a minute ago. Heat warmed his cheeks, and he ducked his head. "Yeah, no," he said, and took another slug of coffee to avoid sounding like even more of an idiot. Then he stared mournfully down at the mug, because it was all gone.

"Come on." Taking his mug, Sophie slipped it into a pocket of her bag and linked her arm with Tommy's. "I promise this will be worth dragging your ass out of bed."

Taking Tommy's other arm, Isaac said, "You've never seen anything like it in Burbank."

After looking from one to the other, Tommy managed a half-smile. "I'm totally holding you to that," he said, and let them lead him down the path that went to the left of the tree. 

They walked through trees for what felt like for-fucking-ever. Sophie and Isaac chattered away, and Tommy didn't really try to follow what they were saying. Much more important, he decided, for them to get to know each other. What mattered to him was that he felt comfortable with them. Which was damn unexpected. 

After stepping on yet another fucking stone, Tommy was wriggling his bruised toes in his shoes and cursing the worn soles of his chucks when they walked out from under the trees. He blinked and almost stumbled over a clump of grass as they walked out into bright sunshine, the sound of rushing, falling water, and acres of blue sky.

Only a couple of fucking feet in front of them the ground disappeared. Dizziness rocked through Tommy, his heart raced, and every breath felt like it would choke him. He swallowed hard. 

"Oh fuck no," he muttered, dropping to the ground and scrambling backwards until he could feel the solidness of a tree trunk at his back. He pressed his fingers into the dirt, held onto a thick root. "You are so not getting me anywhere near that shit. Not for all the coffee in the world."

"Tommy?" Sophie's voice was almost painfully gentle. 

Isaac echoed her. 

Keeping his eyes firmly on the ground in front of him, Tommy said, "Go on. I don't care if you want to go over there. Just, like, don't make me look, okay?"

They stood there, hovering, and Tommy snapped, "Go. Enjoy the fucking view. Just don't fall over, because I'm so not gonna save your asses."

When they finally stopped hesitating and moved away, he took a deep breath and used the tree trunk to pull himself upright. Then, carefully not looking up, he edged his way around the tree and away from the cliff. "One possible alpha down," he said to himself, and slid back down to the ground. He leaned his head against the tree and began running through chords, working them against the seam of his jeans, until his heart finally slowed down and he felt like he could breathe again.

A few minutes later, when he heard Isaac and Sophie coming back, he pushed himself to his feet, dusted the leaves and the rest of the forest shit off his jeans, and shook it out of his hair. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he tried to look something like relaxed. 

"So," Sophie said, "I'm going to guess that hiking out to vista points isn't your thing."

Tommy shook his head. "'M a city kind of guy."

"I should..." she trailed off, glancing over at Isaac who looked just as awkward and uncomfortable as she did. 

"Keep on with this thing," Tommy said. "Long as you don't try to catch me at the full moon, you know." He grabbed one of each of their hands in his own. "You can chase any unmated beta around, right?"

"She can," Isaac spoke up for the first time. 

"She will," Sophie said, clasping Tommy's hand tightly and swinging their arms. She kissed his cheek and then gave Isaac a bright smile. "Now let's get you back to the house before Leila sends someone out to hunt us down."

)()(

Adam paced up and down the main room of the house, humming along with the song playing in his earbuds, and reminding himself of all the reasons not to hurt one of his best friends. He didn't blame Sutan for wanting to court Tommy; he just didn't want Sutan to win.

Slumping down into a chair near the window, Adam stared outside. He'd been just fine when Tommy had gone off into the woods with Isaac and Sophie, even when they'd all returned holding hands, with Tommy in the middle. Why was it so different when Tommy was having lunch with Sutan? 

Not that they were in the kitchen any longer. They'd both run up the stairs a few minutes ago, laughing. Sutan had had his arm around Tommy's shoulders, and Tommy had been leaning into Sutan's side. It was like they'd known each other forever. Isaac had followed far too slowly for Adam's taste. They could have done anything upstairs before Isaac caught up with them. Fucking useless as a chaperone if you asked Adam.

The music switched to a long, slow electronica piece that had Adam frowning and wondering what the hell it was. Half-rising up in the chair, he had to untie the purple and blue flannel shirt from around his waist to get at his phone. He'd just entered the password to unlock it when an odd flowery scent had him locking it again, pulling out his earbuds, and sitting up. 

Ani's head poked around the edge of the door. "Hi," she said and moved slowly into the room. Her dark red hair was caught up in a ponytail. With her face free of makeup and wearing a pair of Keds and a short dress, she looked like a teenager. With perfect skin. 

A flash of intense dislike stabbed through Adam, and he had to work to keep his voice even as he said, "What's up?"

She shrugged and went to curl up in the corner of a couch closest to Adam. "Getting kind of bored. Hardly anything to do out here. Back home in Louisiana, we _entertain_ folks at gatherings. They don't hardly even have decent food around here."

"Seemed fine to me," Adam said. He settled back in his chair, trying to look relaxed even if all of his senses were on the alert. "More food than I usually eat for breakfast, that's for sure."

"I suppose." Ani wrinkled her nose and curled her upper lip. "I'm used to eating a little more substantial fare myself. I wouldn't trust these folks with grits, but surely they could manage an omelet or some scrambled eggs."

Adam couldn't think of a single response that didn't include fuck you and your metabolism. Not that Ani seemed to notice. She just kept talking about all the fattening foods she loved and how much she was going to eat when she got home. Shifting in his seat, Adam flipped to Twitter on his phone and read his DMs while trying to convince his rumbling stomach that kale salad had made a much tastier dinner than a bowl of gumbo with crusty French bread for dipping. 

And his wolf wasn't helping. It wanted nothing more than to attack with teeth and claws, prove that it was the stronger alpha, the better choice. Adam licked his lips and tried to distract himself with what she was saying. 

"My mama made the best doberge cake ever, and I always use her recipe. Lemon, of course, because choc—"

She stopped mid-word, as the door opened, and seemed to curl even tighter in her seat. But if she relaxed when she saw who it was, Adam certainly didn't. Not when his mom had that look on her face.

"Adam!" Leila's voice was raised, making him realize that she'd called his name more than once.

"I could leave if y'all want me to," Ani said, although she didn't make an effort to get up.

"That's not necessary." Leila gave Adam one of those looks that meant he better do what she suggested or else. "Adam's needed in one of the other rooms." She beckoned to Adam, and he scrambled to get up, almost dropping his phone when he tripped over his dangling earbuds. 

"What's wrong?" he hissed when the door closed behind them.

"Neil included some things that weren't in the list you gave me. I need to know if you want them or not before we have Isaac set everything up."

"Isaac?" Adam stopped and stared at her. "Isn't he supposed to stay with Tommy, keep him safe from the other alphas?" 

"But not from you?"

"As if I'd ever hurt my..." Adam trailed off when Leila raised an eyebrow at him, looking far too pleased with herself. "Oh my god, how do you always do that to me?" 

"I'll never tell, so don't even bother asking." Leila kissed him on the cheek and smiled at him. "Now come on. We need to get this perfect. You apparently have a mate to win."

As they walked back towards the room Adam had picked as having the best acoustics, he couldn't decide if he should feel lucky or terrified that his mom could read him so well.

)()(

The dining room was empty when Tommy got there. He wandered over to the table and frowned at the place settings. Two were close together at one end of the table, and a third all the way down at the other, and all had far more bits and pieces than Tommy had ever seen in his life.

 _What the hell are half these things for anyway?_ Picking up a skinny fork-spoon thing, he turned it over and over in his hand. Two tiny spikes at the "fork" end and a narrow spoon at the other. He hadn't a fucking clue what anyone would eat with it. Hopefully something that wouldn't fuck with his already unhappy gut. 

Pulling out a chair, he sat down, careful not to touch the lacy white tablecloth. He'd spent most of the afternoon with Sutan, mostly coming to the conclusion that he wouldn't make a terrible mate. At least he'd talked with Tommy, asked what he liked, before they'd spent time together unlike the other alphas. And not only didn't Sutan care that Tommy liked to wear makeup, he'd offered to give him lessons. Tommy just wished there was more _something_ between them and that he knew what that something was. 

In the absence of anything else to do, Tommy brought out the iPhone he'd got for his birthday. After a quick flip through Twitter and Facebook, he started searching for a new game.

"Hi."

Tommy looked up as Ani walked into the room, followed by Isaac and a couple of the women Tommy had chatted with in the kitchen during brunch. Dori and Aricela, if Tommy remembered correctly. He went to say something, but a faint scent caught his attention. One he'd smelled before, one that called to him, made him want to get closer, know more.

 _Leather and lace and..._. Tommy paused, sniffing deeply, trying to identify the elusive part of the scent. But then everyone started moving around and it was gone, covered by the smells coming from the food bowls and platters 

"Sorry I'm late, but good food simply can't be rushed. Trust me, y'all will appreciate it." Ani smiled at him and placed the bowl she was carrying between the two place settings at the closest end of the table. 

Tommy got up from his seat, stuffed his phone in the pocket of his hoodie, and hiked his jeans back up over his ass. "Totally okay," he said. 

"Not really," Ani frowned at the table and then turned to smile at him. She was wearing a very short, tight blue dress with a flannel shirt over the top that she'd knotted just below her breasts. Her feet were bare, and she'd used the same pink polish on her toenails as she had on her fingernails. Her hair was drawn up in a ponytail that swung with every movement.

Feeling awkward and uncomfortable, Tommy shrugged. "I'm pretty easygoing about food, you know. Give me, like, a taco and I'm good." 

"Oh, but my mate deserves the very best." Ani turned to supervise Dori and Aricela as they transferred dishes from their trays to the table, occasionally directing them to move a platter or a bowl somewhere else. Ani was sharp with them, bordering on rude, snapping when Dori almost knocked over the weird ass statue thing in the middle of the table. But then, when they'd got everything set up to Ani's satisfaction, she gave them both a brilliant smile and said, "Thank you. I'll let y'all know if we need anything else." 

As soon as the door closed behind them, Ani moved closer to Tommy. She drew a hand down her front, catching her pendant with one hand, and touching one of the tails that hung from her knotted shirt. That elusive scent caught at Tommy's nostrils again, and he moved towards her. Closer in, it became stronger and raised goosebumps on his skin. He licked his lips.

Isaac cleared his throat, and Tommy jumped backwards.

"We should get this dinner started," Isaac said, making a point of looking at his watch. "Tommy's got one more meet and greet today after this one."

"Fine," Ani said, although she sounded like it was anything but. Then she smiled again at Tommy and moved to the chair at the head of the table, swaying her hips with every movement. "We should all sit down. I wouldn't want to ruin my mate's plans." 

Something in the way she drawled those words, the way she was already claiming him as her own, raised Tommy's hackles. He started to move past Ani, heading towards the seat at the end of the table, opposite her, but she caught his arm. Her hand slid up over his elbow and bicep. "Oh no, darling, you're sitting here, right next to me. That's for our chaperone."

Tommy looked down the table to where Isaac was headed, at the chair in front of him, and then at Ani. He almost gave in, but the expectation in her expression got under his skin. He might be a fucking beta, but he was damned if he'd sit back and let an alpha run his life.

"No," Tommy said. "That's totally not how this works. Betas don't get sent to the bottom of the table like they don't matter. Isaac's sitting with us, where he can reach the food." 

Pursing her lips, looking annoyed, Ani seemed as if she was going to object. Then she began twisting her ponytail around one finger and seemed to shake herself. "If you insist." 

After Isaac had moved his plate, glass and other crap up to the seat across from Tommy, they started eating. Ani and Isaac talked more than Tommy. Mostly because he couldn't think of a damn thing to say. He didn't know shit about most of the things they talked about. So he picked at the food he thought his stomach could handle and did a lot of listening. 

That comforting smell continued to come and go, getting fainter and fainter as the meal went on. Sometimes it made him want to curl into Ani, seek comfort from her, but then it was like another scent twined around it, overcoming it, turning it sour and nasty, coppery with something that sent shivers through Tommy. By the end of the meal, after he'd managed a couple of bites of the too-sweet cake, it was all he could do not to run from the room, from Ani and whatever the fuck that was.

)()(

The game room looked crowded but as close to what Adam had imagined as was possible. They'd shoved the pool table back against the wall and tossed cushions on the floor since there wasn't really enough room for a couch. Adam walked around it, phone to his ear, trying to decide if there was anything missing. He went over to check on the guitar again.

"Stop being an idiot and trust me," Neil said through Adam's phone. "The guitar is perfect, and the picks and everything are the kind that Tommy uses."

Adam took a step back. "What? No. How did you—"

"Oh come on. Of course you're obsessively checking on that guitar. I bet you've also flipped the sound system on and off at least five times, making sure that the balance meets your ridiculous standards."

"Maybe." Adam stretched out the vowels. 

Neil snorted. "Stop over-thinking this shit and relax. Just be yourself, and like all the other weirdos in the world, he'll love you."

"You're so good for my ego."

"Keeping you real is a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it."

"You don't have to have quite so much fucking fun with it," Adam said, putting a hand on his hip and pouting in a way that was guaranteed to annoy Neil. If he could see it.

"I don't know," a voice came Adam's left. "You look like you're having a lot of 'fucking fun' too."

Adam spun around and automatically clicked the off button on his phone without saying goodbye when he saw Tommy standing there. "Hi," he said, then stared down at his phone. Neil was never going to let him live that down.

"Hi... I... shit, that's a Martin." 

Moving across the room as if drawn by a magnet, Tommy stopped inches away from the guitar. He crouched down and ran his fingers over the strings, sending a cascade of notes through the room. "Do you know how fucking cool they sound? I got to play a demo on a custom at NAMM one year, and this is, like, close to top of the fucking line, dude."

The smile on Tommy's face was so brilliant that Adam wished he'd bought the damn thing instead of borrowing it. But then Tommy's face darkened and he gave Adam the kind of suspicious look that had Adam wanting to make sure he still had his balls.

"Tell me you didn't buy this guitar for me."

Relief swept through Adam. "I didn't buy this guitar for you," he said and then because he couldn't help himself, he added, "It belongs to an old friend."

"And he lent it to you? Just like that?"

"Not exactly," Adam said. "I had to show him vids of you playing guitar and promise the firstborn I'll probably never have to get him to agree."

Giving Adam a very serious nod, Tommy stood up. One of his hands still hovered near the headstock. "I have my own guitar." Suspicion and distrust tainted Tommy's scent. 

"Several, I bet. You probably brought one with you..." He reached up and tugged on his ear, turning his spacer. "It needed to be perfect," he finally said. "You don't have to play that one though. If you'd rather go get your own guitar. I just wanted to make music with you."

Tension strung between them like a tightrope, one that was wobbling beneath Adam's feet. He felt an urge to step forward and lean against Tommy, find his balance that way. 

Then Tommy's scent began to clear. He brushed his bangs out of his eyes, smoothing them down to the side, and grinned. "Music is cool. What'd you wanna play?" 

Adam grinned back. "I figured we could just jam, you know." 

"I don't know, like, many of your songs."

"And I don't know any of your band's music."

Surprise widened Tommy's eyes. "Seriously, dude? You actually listened to us? We're, like, complete shit."

"Your singer sucks, but the guitar player's not bad."

Tommy snorted with laughter. "Don't hold back on the compliments."

"Then play for me," Adam said, and gestured at the guitar. "Prove you can do more than headbang and make an electric screech." That wasn't fair, and Adam knew it. He'd seen the other vids Neil had uncovered. The unlisted ones that showed Tommy playing blues and funk, drawing sweet sounds out of an electric guitar, stretching an acoustic to its limits by mixing in percussive beats. 

The opening of the door pulled Adam's focus away from Tommy, who'd kicked off his shoes and was sitting cross-legged on the floor, tuning the guitar. 

"Sorry I'm late," Isaac held up a cajón, "but someone forgot to tell me that we'd be making music tonight."

"Ooops?" Adam said, and held his hands out in an apology he really didn't mean. Getting those few minutes alone with Tommy had made the small deception worth it. 

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Isaac said, setting his cajón on the floor and making himself comfortable on it. He tapped on the different surfaces, testing it. "Don't mind me. I'm just here to keep the beat."

Tommy flashed him a grin. "What're we playing?" Tommy asked, as he turned a peg.

"Why don't you pick the first song?" Adam poured himself a mug of tea from the thermos jug on a side table and sat down opposite Tommy, stretching his legs out until his feet nearly touched Tommy's leg. "I've probably at least heard of it."

Tommy gave him a crooked smile with more than a hint of challenge. He finished tuning, adjusted the guitar's position, bent over, and began playing. For a second, Adam didn't recognize the intro, being more familiar with the more complicated electric version. Then, as Tommy ran through the intro a second time, Isaac joined in and the words came back to Adam.

"What'll you do when you get lonely. And nobody's waiting by your side?"

When it was over, and they'd ended Layla on a flourish, Tommy gave Adam an expectant look. 

A couple of sips of tea gave Adam enough time to gather his thoughts and remember the songs he'd planned. He took a deep breath, hummed a couple of notes to get himself into the right key, and sang, "I hurt myself today. To see if I still feel—"

"Oh yeah," Tommy murmured. 

Low, slow notes on the guitar slid beneath Adam's singing. Isaac joined in at the beginning of the second verse, and Adam let his voice swell out and fill the room. 

"God damn that was good," Tommy said as the last note faded away. "Glad I don't have to follow that." 

Isaac shook his head. "Oh, yes, you do. I'm just the rhythm section. This is about you and Adam."

"Oh, no, it isn't," Adam said. "Everyone gets a say in my band. Now pick a song."

"One that can be recognized by the beat alone?" Isaac frowned. "Don't make it easy on a guy." And then he grinned, bright and infectious, and started to play. By the third time around, Tommy was grinning back at him and picking out the bass notes on his guitar. 

When they hit the right moment, Adam growled, "Let's go!" And they swung into Another One Bites the Dust.

Several songs and a couple of drinks later, they'd gone so deep into the game of trying to come up with shit that the others didn't know that Tommy was making up chords and riffs as he went along, Adam had pulled up the lyrics app on his iPad, and Isaac was laying down more and more complicated beats. And they were teasing each other in between. 

"All right," Tommy said, when his turn came around again. "I bet you don't know this one." Looking straight into Adam's eyes, he played a riff that sunk deep into Adam's soul. Again and again, four, five, and then six times.

It was so fucking familiar, but Adam couldn't quite remember it. Syllables ran just under his memory. He started to murmur them, scatting along with Tommy and Isaac but never quite singing whole words until finally something clicked and he knew what it was. Remembered nights with his dad, playing old blues albums.

"Standin' at the crossroad, baby, risin' sun goin' down," Adam sang, and Tommy's head flew up so fast he almost missed the next chord. 

"Yes," Tommy hissed, looking so joyful that Adam couldn't help but try his best to stumble his way through the rest of Cross Road Blues. 

When it was over, and Tommy had played the last riff, Adam started laughing his ass off. "You fucking win, okay. I can't remember the last time I lyric-failed that badly." 

"Nah, dude, that was awesome. You totally win just for thinking of doing this shit." Tommy put the guitar on its stand with extreme care, stroking the side and checking it a couple of times before grabbing his glass and going over to sit on the floor next to Adam. 

Suddenly completely sober, Adam brought up one leg, bent knee and foot flat on the floor, and turned to Tommy. He breathed in Tommy's scent, now layered with sweat and Jim Beam. 

"Hey," Tommy said. 

"Hey," Adam replied.

And then Tommy was leaning in, nuzzling into Adam's neck, sending shivers of want through him. "That's it," Tommy mumbled before pulling back. "Had to be your shirt. It just didn't make sense, not coming and going like that."

"What?" Adam tucked a thumb under Tommy's chin and raised it, trying to read Tommy's expression.

Isaac came to crouch down in front of them. "Tommy? Something we should know about?"

"Doesn't really matter," Tommy said. 

Something in the flatness of his tone set off Adam's alarm bells, and the urge to attack sliced through him. "It matters."

"Not like you think it does." Tommy pulled out of Adam's grip but stayed close enough that their legs were touching.

"What do you mean?" Isaac asked, settling onto the floor on the opposite side of Tommy from Adam.

"My shirt? I left it, I think. In the other room... when Mom came to get me." The pieces of the puzzle started clicking together in Adam's brain. "Ani? Was she wearing it tonight?"

Isaac cocked his head. "The purple and blue one?"

Adam's lips peeled back from his teeth, and he snarled.

"No," Tommy said, placing his hand on Adam's arm. "Don't."

His touch, his words, went through Adam like a shower of cold water, calming him down. Adam's jaw dropped, and he stared at Tommy. What the fuck had that been? 

"Ani's scared. We have to help her, not fucking hunt her down."

"Are you sure?"

At Isaac's question, Adam remembered the way Ani had been curled up on the couch that afternoon. He really didn't want to agree with Tommy but... he sighed. "Tommy's right. She's in trouble."

His reward was a bright smile and a kiss to his cheek. As if in a trance, Adam turned his head, felt Tommy's lips graze over his skin, and then they were kissing. Adam slipped his arms around Tommy, licked into his mouth, tasting him, being tasted by him, holding him and being held. 

Until Isaac cleared his throat. "Guys, come on. You know the rules." 

Reluctantly, slowly, Adam pulled away and let go of Tommy. He licked his lips and reached for his glass, taking a sip of vodka, using it to burn away the need to grab Tommy and run.

)()(

**3\. After our beautiful karma**

Tommy stumbled out of bed just after noon, having managed four or five hours of restless sleep. After a quick shower, he dug into his suitcase and pulled on the first set of clothes that seemed to match. He slung his battered acoustic over his back, grabbed his phone and earbuds, and headed down the stairs, yawning wide enough to crack his jaw. This was so fucking not the day he'd wanted to start off late. Then again, he thought, it would have been a goddamn disaster if he hadn't gotten any sleep at all.

Voices came from the dining room as he passed by. Adam's rose above the others for a moment. Tommy paused to listen, but whatever Adam had been saying was lost beneath Sutan's laugh so he kept on going.

The kitchen was mostly empty. The only person there was Dori, who was pouring what looked like soup from a pan into a large bowl. 

"Lunch is in the dining room," she said without looking up.

"Yeah, I know." Tommy checked out the food on the table, waiting for someone to take it into the dining room. Snagging some kind of seeded roll from a basket, he tore it open and made a sandwich with some cheese and grilled fish from the platters. 

"You shouldn't—" 

Ducking his head, letting his bangs fall into his face, Tommy gave Dori the look that always worked on his mom and sister. "Just want some time to myself, you know, before this crazy train gets going again."

She frowned at him, then shrugged and picked up a travel mug that was sitting on the counter nearby. "Don't tell anyone, okay? I'm not supposed to do this." 

Tommy gave her his best smile, then he walked over and kissed her on the cheek. "Gracias." 

"You." Giggling, Dori handed him the travel mug and pushed him away. "Get what you need and go. Water and juice are in the fridge if you want more than coffee."

A few minutes later, Tommy made his way outside. He had the travel mug of coffee and a bottle of water dangling from one hand, a napkin filled with berries stuffed in the pocket of his hoodie, and the sandwich in his other hand. Once he reached the garden, he hesitated. The temptation to go find some place to hide was almost irresistible, but he had a job to do. No matter how much he wanted to, this wasn't a good time to kick back and relax. So he headed for the seat that he'd spied from his bedroom window the day before.

Carved into the trunk of an enormous old sequoia, the seat was a little bit too big for one person but not quite big enough for two. Perfect for what Tommy wanted. He put the food and drink on the curved table that had been formed from a wide branch, leaned his guitar against the tree where he'd be able to reach it easily, and made himself comfortable. Sitting sideways, he rested his head against the smooth wood that formed one wall, pressed his feet against the opposite one, and closed his eyes.

The tree was alive. It scented his world with the sharpness of redwood. Leaves rustled and branches creaked in the breeze. Beneath that, when he concentrated, he could hear birds and small animals going about their lives, and even insects crawling around. 

Tommy's breath hitched. An ache grew in his chest. Even this fucking tree had it better than Tommy these days. No worries about mating, about trusting his life and his pack — _his family_ — to an alpha he'd barely met. Adam seemed great, called to him and his wolf in ways that no one else ever had, and he fucking kissed like a dream. But instincts only went so fucking far. As for faith... that shit was for idiots who didn't know any better.

Bringing his knees to his chest, Tommy shifted until he could rest his forehead on them. All he fucking wanted to do was play his guitar. Get his ass up on stage in front of an audience who wanted to be there and make music. At least he knew that Adam or Sutan, and his mate fucking well better be one of them, would let him do what he needed. Because if he couldn't play, he might as well be dead. 

A small, soft, warm hand touched Tommy's fingers.

He snapped into action. Twisting to face the intruder, landing on the seat in a crouch. His teeth bared in a snarl, his fingers curved into claws and wrapped tightly around a thin arm, he found himself facing a wide-eyed Ani. 

"Hi. I... you... I just..." She cleared her throat. "I called your name. More than once."

His entire body buzzing from adrenaline, Tommy slowly released her and settled back down. "Not a good idea," he said. He flexed his fingers, concentrated on returning them to normal. It took a shitload more effort than usual, even this close to a full moon.

Ani raised a trembling hand to her mouth and nodded. Then she looked around and gestured at the closest chair. "Mind if I—?"

"Nah. Might as well, like, make yourself comfortable." Tommy said, reaching for his bottle of water. The chilled condensation felt good against his palm, the skin still prickling from changing back into human hands, so he rolled the bottle between his hands. 

"You're not like any beta in my daddy's pack," she said. "They let us look after them."

"Huh," Tommy said, more as a way to give himself time to settle, to gather his thoughts than anything else.

"It's what we alphas are born to do: protect the betas and cubs, keep y'all safe, provide for you."

"Fuck that noise. Not in my pack. Never in my pack. Beta's got to be equal to the alpha. Got to have respect, you know." He raised the bottle and took a long drink.

"I respect my beta!"

"Your—" Shock had Tommy almost choking on his mouthful of water. He swallowed and coughed, tried again. "What are you... why are you here?"

Ani sighed, her expression caught somewhere between resigned and afraid. "I'm not mated. I have a right to be here, to fight for you."

His mind racing almost as fast as his heartbeat, Tommy said, "You didn't answer my question."

"I'm sorry, Tommy," she said. "Y'all don't really deserve this."

Tommy opened his mouth, tried to ask her what she meant, but his heart skipped a beat and he had to gasp for breath. "Fuck," he finally stuttered out.

Her face started to swim in front of him. The tree felt soft, like he was sinking into its surface. The last thing he heard, as darkness pressed in from the edges of his sight, was his guitar crashing to the ground.

)()(

"I still don't like it." Adam stabbed his fork into a piece of tomato. "We should at least move to the library or that fugly yellow parlor. Somewhere that we can see Tommy."

"Mary, you really don't want to go through this again, do you?" Sutan waved a breadstick at him. "You know Ani would scent any of us a mile away at this point."

"Fuck off," Adam said as pleasantly as he could manage. The urge to claim, to simply be close to Tommy was getting stronger, as the full moon got closer.

"Why don't I go and check on him." Isaac pushed away from the table. 

Leila gave him a nod. "Can you hold Ani if you need to?"

"She's not as strong as—"

Isaac's words disintegrated in the sense of nothing, of dark emptiness where something had been, that swamped Adam. He dropped his fork from suddenly nerveless fingers. His lungs seized, refusing to take any oxygen from the air he was breathing. He coughed and coughed again as black spots bloomed in his eyesight. 

Red fury followed in the darkness's wake. He slammed to his feet, toppling his chair, threw back his head, and howled a challenge.

_Mine!_

Adam ran for the garden.

)()(

White light blinded Tommy, shining directly into his eyes, and he squeezed them shut as quickly as he'd opened them. He breathed in and allowed the tip of his tongue to peek out from between his lips. The air smelled and tasted sour, like the dregs of red wine found in a bottle opened weeks earlier and just discovered behind the couch.

A large hand clamped over his mouth, pressing against his tongue. The calloused skin tasted hot and ripe, oddly familiar and yet not like anything he recognized. Parting his lips, pulling back his tongue, Tommy snapped his teeth closed and bit as hard as he could into the fleshy part of the guy's palm.

Another hand slammed into the side of his head, setting his ear to ringing and bouncing it off a hard surface. He opened his mouth to protest and thick fingers clamped his jaw shut in their vice grip.

"Hell, no, you don't. This ain't the time nor place for me to be teaching you manners, boy. Just you wait until we get where we're going."

Since he couldn't answer any other way, Tommy brought his knee up. It sank, quick and hard, into soft flesh.

This time the darkness felt like mercy.

)()(

Tommy's guitar was broken. Adam clung to that thought as tightly as he held onto the pieces of wood, because beyond it was nothing but crimson red rage. His wolf paced within his confines, battering itself against Adam's refusal to shift. _Attack_ , it howled, and _Mine_ , and _Need_.

As the last thought reverberated through him, leaving behind the fear that they wouldn't find Tommy before the full moon, Adam caught a lax string and ran it between his thumb and forefinger. No sound came out of it. None of the music that Tommy would have drawn from it, that he had created with the Martin. Adam set his jaw and stood up. He placed the pieces of the guitar carefully on the seat carved into the tree, sniffing the faint traces of Tommy yet again. Still unable to identify the bitterness tainting Tommy's scent, Adam turned around. 

Leila and Sutan stood in front of him. Their expressions were so carefully blank Adam had to force himself to keep his arms at his sides, his hands curled loosely into fists. 

"What?" Adam asked, biting off the word.

"Nothing yet," Leila said, moving to rest a reassuring hand on Adam's arm. "We've sent the drinks and food out for testing, but we won't get anything back for at least a few hours."

Adam shook her off. "No. Damn it, mom. We can't just stand around and wait." 

"We know, baby," she said. 

"No, you really don't," Adam snarled. "I didn't even know what he was, that he was part of me until a few minutes ago. And now I can't feel him at all. My wolf can't feel him. He's just fucking _gone_." His voice broke on the last word, and he let Sutan pull him into a hug. If the full moon set before they found Tommy, before Adam could claim him, he didn't know what he'd do.

"He's not dead," Leila said in the same kind of voice she used to reassure Adam and Neil when they were kids. "And he's not alone. Ani's disappeared too. She left all of her things behind though."

The name drew a whine from Adam's wolf that came out of his mouth in a hiss. Sutan's arms tightened around him.

"The scent trail ends at just beyond the walls," Leila continued. "She probably had some kind of van or SUV waiting for her."

Adam just looked at her, wanting to say something, wanting her to make it all better. She simply reached for him, and he shuffled from Sutan's arms into hers. He had to lean down and bend his knees, but hugs from his mama were worth the backache.

)()(

Tommy's head cracked against the stone floor. Sharp pain spiked through his skull and he groaned only to have someone slap a hand over his mouth. He'd parted his lips, ready to bite down as hard as he could when he realized that this hand was much smaller. So he only nipped lightly.

"Ow, damn it. That hurt," an unfamiliar voice whispered, reproach audible, and the hand loosened over Tommy's mouth. "I'm letting you go. Y'all don't make any more noise than you have to. It's not safe." 

Carefully, slowly, Tommy opened his eyes the tiniest bit he could manage. The light was so dim, he could barely see the shadow of the guy crouched over him. He was thin, smaller than Tommy, and definitely a beta. Not the asshole who'd beat the shit out of him. He nodded and then bit his lip to stop himself from making a sound when that movement sent a shockwave of pain through his head. 

"I have... well, it's not really a bed, more like a pile of blankets over there in the corner." The dude was still keeping his voice low, but he talked so damn fast and had such a thick accent that Tommy had to concentrate if he was going to have a hope in hell of understanding him. But then the dude said, "Let me help you," and his hands were gentle as he helped Tommy to his feet and then back down again on a soft warm bed.

Tommy squinted. His vision blurred and wavered for a moment, then settled into an image of long, tangled white blond hair hanging over a bruised and pale, sharp-featured face. "'M Tommy."

"Rene Mercier."

Shaking hands in that place was one of the weirdest things Tommy had ever done, and he'd done a ton of strange shit over the years. As they sat there not talking, Tommy stared at his nails and began picking at the edges where the polish was staring to come off. He'd got about half the black off his left thumbnail when he realized something. He raised his head and stared at Rene. "You're Ani's mate."

"Non!" Rene's denial was immediate and accompanied by a violent shaking of his head. "We're not mated."

"Why the hell not?"

Rene lowered his gaze to the blankets and began to pick at them. "It don't matter at this point. I'm as good as dead now Jerome's got you."

"What? Why the fuck does he want me?"

"Not you, cher, but what you can give him. Mate with you, and he gets your pack. He's tired of running outlaw and too lazy to follow the alpha council's rules and set himself up." Rene shrugged. "Me? I was his guarantee that Ani would do as she was told. Now she's done that, he sure as shit don't need me."

"Fuck that noise. No way I'm letting him near my family." Tommy grabbed on Rene's hand and tugged on it to get his attention. "You and I are getting out of here."

"You think it's that damn easy?"

"Never said it would be easy, but we have to do something." Tommy pushed himself to his feet, only staggering a little. The closer he got to the wooden walls, the more his head started to pound and the dizzier he felt. He raised a hand, reached towards the wall.

And then Rene was there, yanking Tommy backwards, wrapping his arms around Tommy and holding him still. "Silver," he hissed. "Touch it and you'll burn."

"Seriously? That's insane."

"It's desperation, cher."

Closing his eyes, Tommy focused outwards. Silver pressed in on him from all sides. Fainter where the door was and high up on the walls where he couldn't reach, where the windows let in the light of the nearly full moon. Lines and lines of it, crossing on the diagonal. And beyond it something, just for a moment, it felt like someone was stretching towards him, trying to fill a space inside his mind that he hadn't realized was empty until then. Blocked from him by the silver. 

"He's locked us in a fucking cage," Tommy growled. His anger rose, sizzling along his veins, waking up his wolf. "That is so not fucking on."

Rene shrugged. "Jerome is alpha."

"He could be the head of the goddamn alpha council for all I care. I'm not fucking mating with him or his daughter."

Rene released him, and Tommy turned around. There was silence, heavy and almost painful, then Rene nodded. "Okay."

"Yeah." Tommy grinned at him in relief and then grabbed him in a hug. "Yeah."

After a pause, Rene hugged him back. It was tight and reassuring and not quite right, but it gave Tommy hope that they could do this. Hope that lasted as he lay awake for hours, Rene snoring at his side. Until he finally fell asleep curled up around Rene. Until they were woken up by the door crashing back against the wall.

)()(

Unable to sit still, Adam prowled the house. He rummaged through Ani's closet and drawers, allowing his claws to come out and shred the delicate fabrics. He tore apart her suitcase and cursed her for not leaving her phone or laptop behind. When he was done, the room was a disaster. The only thing he'd left intact was the furniture, and that had been a damn close call when he'd scented her on it.

From there he went to Tommy's room, but couldn't bring himself to go inside. Not when Tommy wasn't there. Not when he still fucking couldn't _feel_ Tommy. No one could fucking disappear like that. Not unless they were dead, and Tommy was _not_ dead. Adam would know. He would.

Pivoting on one foot, he headed for the stairs, taking them two and three at a time as he raced downstairs into the kitchen. He slammed through the doors and skidded to a halt just inside. 

Dori and Aricela were talking to Sophie and Isaac. All four of them turned when Adam burst into the room. Aricela brought her hand to her mouth to stifle a scream. Dori took a step backwards. 

"Hey," Isaac said.

Sophie winked at him. "We were just talking with Dori and Aricela, seeing if they remembered Tommy from this afternoon."

"And do you?" Adam stalked towards the two humans. 

"No," Aricela said. "I would have said something."

Dori simply shook her head. 

Adam paused in front of Aricela, took her hands in his, and raised them. He breathed in deeply and then released them to grab Dori. 

She squeaked, and he grabbed her arm before she could back away.

"You."

"I didn't—"

"He touched you—" Adam ran a fingernail down her cheek, pressing it into her skin when he reached the spot that reeked of Tommy "—here."

"Please, sir." Dori tried to pull out of Adam's grasp, and he tightened his grip on her wrist. 

"You reek of my mate." Adam growled and bared his teeth at her.

"No, that's not possible. I haven't seen him for hours."

"You told us that you hadn't seen him at all," Sophie said, coming to stand behind Dori, blocking her escape. 

"You should tell him," Isaac said. "By our laws, Adam's got every right to tear you to pieces."

"And if I tell, the other one kills me and my family. You tell me, señor. What should I do?"

"Madre de Dios." Aricela started crying quietly. "For the love of god, Dori, say something. That boy was good to us."

"You should tell me," Adam said, his voice silky with promise. "If you do, you won't have anything to fear from the other one."

"He was here," Dori said, barely loud enough to be heard over the noise that erupted in the front of the house. "That first night. I don't know his name, the one with the long hair. He was from the South, with no respect for my kind. But he said he knew my sister. My little sister. She's so sweet, pregnant with her first child."

Fighting against conflicting urges to find out what the fuck was going on out front and to drag the information out of Dori, Adam forced himself to focus on her. He made what he hoped was an encouraging noise and gritted out, "What. The. Fuck. Happened?" 

The way she flinched told him that he'd failed, but she shook herself and began talking again.

"He was sent away that night, but not before he came to me with his promises and threats. I didn't want to do it," she looked around, pleading, "but how could I say no?" 

"Do you know what was used to drug Tommy?" Sophie said, soft and gentle. 

"No, I didn't ask. It was safer that way. He said it wouldn't hurt him. That it would just make him sleep."

"It was silverwater." 

At Leila's voice, Adam swung around, causing Dori to stumble into him. Pain and relief washed through him. Only silverwater. Not true poison but it would fuck Tommy up badly enough that he'd pass out. Make it impossible for any werewolf to sense him, even if they were in the same room.

Adam went to turn back to Dori, to try and get one more piece of information out of her, when Sutan walked into the kitchen. 

"This bitch," Sutan yanked Ani around, making her fall to the floor in front of him, "has something she wants to say to us."

)()(

Tommy was dragged from the cell, down a hallway, and tossed into the corner of another room. He blinked against the bright sunlight, against the rush of feeling, of someone, that poured into the empty space inside him. Shifting backwards until his back was against the wall, he was trying to reach that someone — _Adam_ — when Rene was thrown down next to him. They huddled together. Rene was trembling so hard that Tommy cursed silently as he slid an arm around Rene and hugged him. He really wanted to hurt the fucker who'd broken Rene.

"Where in hell is my daughter?" 

The shout yanked Tommy's attention away from Rene to the guy sitting in an overstuffed chair at the far end of the room. His long brown hair was no longer braided but hanging down around his face in loose, not-quite-clean waves. His eyes, though, still burned with the same light as they had when Tommy had forced him to take no for an answer.

"Jerome," whispered Rene. "Merde. We are so fucked, us."

A werewolf moved away from the group of four at the other side of the room and went to kneel in front of Jerome. "Alpha," the werewolf said. "Anika left during the night. Her car is missing."

There was a pause, as if the entire room was holding its breath. Then Jerome growled, "Salope," and kicked the werewolf, sending him flying backwards. Jerome shoved himself out of the chair, glanced around the room, and spit out a series of French words that Tommy didn't even try to understand. They were enough to make Rene cower at his side, so Tommy figured it wasn't anything like good for either of them. 

As if Jerome was reading Tommy's mind, he turned slowly on one heel to face them. Then, his upper lip curled into something between a snarl and a smile, he stalked over. He was taller than Tommy remembered, towering over them, and broader. More muscles than Tommy had ever dreamed of having in the days when he'd tried to bulk up. 

Freeing himself from Rene's clinging hold, his heart feeling like it was pounding somewhere in his throat, Tommy rose to his feet. He clenched his shaking hands into fists and folded his arms across his chest. A sinking feeling in his gut had Tommy remembering Rene's words from the night before and that Jerome wasn't really interested in him. At least not yet. Not until the moon rose and they'd shifted, and he could claim Tommy and his pack.

"No," Tommy said, even though Jerome hadn't said a damn thing, just stared down at Rene. Then, because that didn't move Jerome's attention off Rene, Tommy added, "No, and hell no, and fuck you for even thinking I would."

Whispering broke out behind Jerome, and Rene muttered something under his breath. But Tommy couldn't see anything or anyone beyond Jerome, who seemed to grow even larger. 

Jerome reached out and speared his fingers into Tommy's hair, got a tight grip and pulled his head back, baring Tommy's neck. "Who let you think the choice is yours, boy?"

)()(

The house was old and low to the ground, and it filled most of the clearing. An extension off to the left, made from wood rather than the ivy-covered stone of the rest of the house, radiated pain and sickness. But Tommy wasn't there. Adam wouldn't be able to feel him if he was. The silver would have prevented it.

A spike of pain came through Adam's fragile connection with Tommy, and Adam started forward only to be pulled back into the shelter of the trees yet again by his mom and Sutan.

"We agreed," Leila said. The disappointment in her voice almost overwhelmed Adam's need to get Tommy out of there. She sounded as tired as Adam felt, after a night of talking and yelling and finally coming to something like an agreement on how they could save Tommy.

Adam still wasn't convinced that calling on Tommy's pack and getting their help in attacking the outlaws wasn't the best idea, but he was done with arguing. Worst came to worst, Adam would wait until the moon rose and challenge the bastard who had his mate. He kept his eyes fixed on the house, didn't bother to look at either his mom or Sutan, and murmured, "I didn't know then. I couldn't feel him." 

"None of us knew, baby." Sutan leaned his head against Adam's shoulder. "And none of us are happy about leaving Tommy in there with that bastard. And we won't, I promise. Not one second longer than we have to."

 _He's not your mate_. Adam wanted to throw the words at them both, but he didn't. He just said, "Tell me this will work."

"It'll work." Running her hand up and down his arm, her voice fierce and low, Leila said, "I wouldn't leave him in there, wouldn't let that outlaw have Tommy even if he wasn't your mate."

Another slice of pain cut through Adam's head, and he flinched. "Please, mama. Please. We have to get him out."

Before Leila could respond, they all heard the faint sounds of a car approaching. A few minutes passed before the car finally appeared, minutes in which the only things that held Adam back from attacking were his mom's hand on his right arm and Sutan on his left.

Still, when the old Charger stopped in front of the house and Ani got out, Adam took a step forward so that he could watch.

Ani hesitated when she got out of the car, taking a moment to fix her hair, and Adam wanted to scream at her to move. But eventually, after a lifetime or so, she shook herself and started to walk, far too fucking slowly, down the winding path to the house. 

"Soon," Leila said. "We just need to give her enough time to distract her father."

Adam didn't reply. He was too busy staring at the door that had closed behind Ani.

)()(

Tommy had a split lip, and some of his bruises were developing bruises of their own. He didn't have any broken bones though, and Jerome was breathing heavily and limping. Both were definite wins in Tommy's book. As was the fact that none of the other weres had interfered in the fight. 

"Maudit," Rene breathed. "I didn't think we could hold him off, cher." 

"We still haven't," Tommy said, watching Jerome. "He's just playing around with us, you know. We're like a couple of chew toys that he's batting around the room."

"Mais I don't know why we're fighting then?"

"That's a damn good question, boy." 

Looking Jerome in the eyes, Tommy said, "You didn't think we'd just fucking fall to our knees and let you do whatever the fuck you wanted, did you?" A shift in Jerome's expression had Tommy snickering. "You fucking did, didn't you? What goddamn century did you grow up in? You've gotta earn it, dude. No one's going to just hand you shit."

Jerome growled and took a step forward. Then he stopped and raised his head, sniffing the air. "Ani," he yelled.

"Hello, Papa." Ani's voice was quiet, but it filled the room. "I hear y'all were looking for me." She stood just inside the room, dressed as if she'd just come from a day out, in high heeled shoes and a matching short green dress. 

"Come here, child," Jerome said, "and give me a proper greeting."

Her hips swaying, looking as if she didn't have a care in the world, Ani sauntered over to stand in front of Jerome. She rose up on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Then she took a step back and did a little twirl. "What do you think of my new outfit, Papa? Do you think it's fit for a mating?"

Throwing back his head, Jerome laughed. The tension in the room dropped a few notches, but Tommy didn't let himself relax. He shifted sideways and peeked around Jerome. Two of Jerome's pack stood between him and the door, but their eyes were fixed on Ani's ass. He took Rene's hand and took a step sideways. No one seemed to notice. 

They made it several feet before Jerome grabbed Ani by the neck. Tommy froze in place; Rene squeezed his hand hard enough to hurt.

"My very own daughter," Jerome said, "and y'all are betraying me for what? A cowering beta who brings fuck all to our pack. No money, no wolves, no nothing. Just another fucking mouth to feed and body to house." He turned his head and spat on the floor. "I'd rather kill you myself than let you mate with _that_."

Jerome's hand tightened on Ani's neck. She whimpered, reaching up and clawing at his hand. Her face started to change color, and she started to overbalance as he lifted her up onto the very tips of her toes.

"Ani!" Rene shouted. He let go of Tommy's hand and launched himself at Jerome's back. 

"Aw, you stupid fuck," Tommy muttered, as he watched Jerome reach back with one hand to haul Rene up and flip him almost on top of Ani. Tommy moved into position and kicked the back of Jerome's knee as hard as he could. 

Jerome's leg buckled. He dropped Ani, slammed Rene down half on top of her, and swung around. Tommy ducked, feeling Jerome's fist brush the tips of his hair. 

Then, as Ani and Rene pulled themselves up and rejoined the fight, the other werewolves in the room woke up to the fact that their alpha was being attacked. And Jerome howled a challenge.

)()(

Several feet behind him, Adam could hear Neil and his mom talking with a woman whose voice he didn't recognize. He supposed it was rude of him not to go back and introduce himself. These werewolves were from Tommy's pack, after all. But he couldn't bring himself to give a fuck. Not when Tommy was in that house.

This close to the full moon though, Adam should be able to do more. He should be able to extend his senses further than usual.

He glanced over his shoulder, making sure that no one was paying any attention to him, and slipped to the edge of the tree line. The house was still closed up. He concentrated, closing his eyes, and focusing everything he had on the house, on Tommy. Nothing and nothing and then—

A howl rose into the air, filled with challenge. _PainFearPain_ arced through Adam and was replaced by a fierce determination. Desperation.

Before he could think about it, Adam was running for the house, howling a challenge of his own. He didn't hesitate or look back when his mom called his name, or when he heard the others following behind him. He barely slowed down long enough to open the door, slammed through the guard on the other side, and dodged down the hallway, not stopping until he reached a large room at the back of the house.

At first, all Adam could see were wolves milling around. Then he caught a flash of blond hair at the other end of the room. He stepped forward. Five large men turned towards him as he entered, almost looking relieved to have someone to attack. Adam was still calculating the odds when Sutan and Neil joined him. Voices filled the hallway behind them.

"Go. Get our boy," Sutan said, snapping a long, thick whip. "Leave these bitches to us."

Adam hesitated for a second. A man came barreling towards him, head down. Adam danced sideways and swept out one leg and tripped him.

Then Tommy yelled, "Don't you fucking dare!"

His wolf so close to the surface that he could feel its strength, its possessiveness, Adam shoved his attacker towards Sutan and ran towards Tommy without a backwards glance. 

It was a challenge, two alphas and two betas. _His beta_ fighting a challenge with another alpha, with Ani, against Ani's father. Adam's wolf growled, and the noise seemed to fill the room. Tommy startled, twisting around, and Jerome grabbed him, yanked Tommy against him, and turned to face Adam. 

"Lost something?" Jerome sneered at Adam.

Adam took a step forward. His wolf reaching for the full moon, trying to find the strength to force a shift, Adam's teeth sharpened, and his hands curved into claws. "Let Tommy go," he said.

"Hell, no." Sliding a hand under Tommy's chin, Jerome tilted Tommy's head and mimed biting him. "I have plans for this sweet beta and his pack."

"I am so fucking tired of not getting a say," Tommy said and brought down his foot on Jerome's toes at the same time as he drove his elbow into Jerome's belly. 

Jerome's hand tightened on Tommy's throat. "You need a teaching, boy." 

As Tommy struggled against Jerome, Adam searched for an opening, a way to attack Jerome without getting Tommy hurt. He'd just started moving sideways, trying to get around him, when Ani and the blond beta popped up behind Jerome. Flashing Adam a bright smile, she raised a chair leg and brought it down on Jerome's head at the same time at the blond beta slammed another chair leg into Jerome's back.

Jerome fell forward, landing on top of Tommy, who didn't make a sound.

Ani's whoop of victory broke Adam out of his shock and he dropped to his knees to roll Jerome off Tommy. There was blood on Tommy's face. Adam went to pick him up, to get him to safety, when Jerome groaned. 

Ignoring Adam's hand, Tommy scrambled to his feet. He swayed in place but kept his focus on Jerome.

"I don't think so, daddy dearest," Ani drawled and rested the broken, sharp end of her chair leg at the base of Jerome's throat. "Unless you've got a death wish."

The other beta took up a position beside her, his chair leg at the ready.

Jerome looked from one to the other. Then, his entire focus on Tommy, he spread his arms out in a gesture of surrender. 

Adam's wolf howled. His beta. His mate. And, unable to think beyond his instincts, doing his best not to dig his claws into Tommy's skin, Adam wrapped him in his arms and pulled him close. He buried his nose in Tommy's hair, breathed in his scent. Felt Tommy's chest move, heard his heart beat. Felt the sharp ache as his own teeth and claws shifted back to normal.

"Safe," Adam muttered. 

"Yeah," Tommy said, turning in Adam's embrace so that he was facing Adam, resting his head against Adam's shoulder and slipping his arms around Adam's waist. 

People moved around them, talked and made noise, but they kept their distance. Adam didn't lift his head. He trusted his instincts, his wolf, to warn him if there was danger.

"You're hurt," Adam said.

"Bruised to shit is all. Nothing that tonight's shift won't heal." 

"Show me?" The question was out before Adam could stop it. He nearly whined when Tommy pulled away so that he could see, but Adam held it in, knowing somehow that it wouldn't be welcome.

The blood smeared across Tommy's cheek and into his hair had dried. Dark shadows that would become bruises were visible beneath the pale skin. His hoodie and t-shirt were torn and filthy. Tommy gave him a considering look and asked, "Trust me?"

Taking a firm grip on his instincts and his wolf, Adam clenched his jaw and nodded. 

A lopsided smile and Tommy curling into him, almost sagging as he let Adam take most of his weight, were Adam's reward. He pressed a kiss into the top of Tommy's head and just held him. It was enough for now.

)()(

**4\. Let nature have its way**

As soon as the doctor had confirmed that he was bruised and battered but not broken, Tommy put as much space as he could between himself, the house, and everyone else as was possible in the clearing. He went to push his hair back, but clenched his hand into a fist when he saw how much it was shaking. He needed a guitar and a drink, not necessarily in that order.

He squinted at the dark blue sky. The sun was almost at the horizon. The stars and moon were already starting to show. Less than an hour before full dark, before the full moon shone upon the world and their wolves broke free. Lost in feelings that he couldn't even begin to identify, Tommy stood there and watched as Jerome was handcuffed in leather-wrapped silver and escorted to a van. When they'd driven away and the itchy sensation had disappeared from between his shoulder blades, he stretched his neck and shoulder muscles and tried to relax. 

"What were you thinking? Fighting an alpha like that." 

Looking up just in time, Tommy braced himself as Lisa flung her arms around him. He sank into his sister's embrace and breathed in the comfort she always brought with her. 

"'M okay," he mumbled into her shoulder. "Be fine after tonight."

"I'm totally holding you to that." She squeezed tighter, pressing against his bruised back and sides, and Tommy flinched. Lisa released him and stepped back. "You idiot," she said, brushing his hair out of his face and taking one of Tommy's hands in her own. "Why didn't you wait for us? You knew we'd come for you."

Tommy opened his mouth to respond, to defend himself, but was stopped by Adam moving in behind him and draping an arm possessively over Tommy's shoulder and chest. 

"Hi, I'm Adam."

"Lisa. This idiot's sister." 

"Hey!" Tommy objected.

Ignoring him, they shook hands while still holding on to him, which was fucking annoying. He wasn't a kid for fuck's sake. He was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. 

"So," Lisa said, her gaze skittering from Tommy to Adam and back again, "you're the one my brother's chosen?"

Tommy scowled at her. She just smiled and winked at him.

"Yes." Adam pulled Tommy back against him.

"What? I haven't—" Tommy managed to get out, only to be cut off by Leila calling Adam over.

"Gotta go, baby," Adam said, kissing the side of Tommy's head and heading over to where Leila was talking with two guys. The one who exuded alpha had dark curly hair and looked enough like Adam that Tommy was sure they were related. The other guy though, Tommy would have bet on being a beta. He was short and thin, with the kind of ass that Tommy would kill for, and the dude all but jumped Adam when he joined them. 

What the actual fuck, Tommy thought, as his wolf growled, _Mine_.

"Oh my god," Lisa said. "Adam Fucking Lambert as our alpha. The kids are gonna freak."

Tommy dragged his attention back to her. "What?"

"Your mate. Our alpha." Lisa's smile widened. "He's gorgeous and rich. He sings like a dream and—"

"He's, like, not my mate yet."

"Well," she said, her tone dismissive, "the way he looks at you, that's just a matter of the moon rising."

"The way he—" Tommy stared at her. "What about me? Or am I just supposed to, like, bend over, raise my ass in the air, and bare my neck?"

"You mean you don't want to?"

"That's totally not the point. Dude's gotta earn his shit."

Instead of agreeing with him, Lisa said, "His...? Oh, Tommy, only you," and started giggling. She was still laughing when Adam rejoined them. 

Adam was covered with the scent of patchouli and _not-him_ , and Tommy wrinkled his nose. That fucking bastard of a beta, he thought, shoving Adam away when he tried for a hug. "Dude, you stink."

Looking hurt, Adam almost crossed his eyes as he tried to smell himself. "I do not."

"Do too." 

Lisa giggled even harder, and Tommy stuck his tongue out at her.

"You guys," she said. "I'm just gonna—" she flapped a hand at them "—be over there, okay? Leave you to it." She backed away then turned and ran over to where her husband was standing, still laughing.

Adam shook his head. "Your sister is nuts."

"Yeah."

They stared at each other for a few seconds before Tommy looked down at his feet, at the creeper he was pushing into the soft ground. He wanted to say something. He had to say something but couldn't string together enough words to make sense of how he was feeling, of what he wanted. That he was fucked off by everyone assuming that he'd roll over and let Adam claim him as soon as the moon rose.

"God damn it," Tommy muttered, rolling his shoulders against the ache that was starting to move down his spine.

"Tommy?" Adam reached out a hand towards him. His fingernails were extending, the hair on the back of his growing longer.

And just like that, Tommy knew what he needed to do. He smiled at Adam, baring a mouth full of sharpened teeth, and stripped off his shoes and clothes as fast as he could. 

"Catch me if you can," Tommy called over his shoulder. Then he jumped into the moon's light, shifted, and ran for the trees.

)()(

Adam stood there, rooted to the spot by the shock that Tommy's challenge had sent through him, unable to take his eyes away from the white wolf who was rapidly disappearing between the trees. He threw back his head and howled as the moonlight reached him. His tendons, ligaments, and bones began their own shift into wolf form, lengthening, stretching, dislocating. Pain flashed through him, sharp and sweet, and then it was over.

His senses expanded as he raced into the woods. He could hear the other wolves running, playing, mating. Smaller animals finding hiding places or rummaging around after their evening meals. The wind danced through the leaves, carrying a myriad different smells. Reaching a fork in the path, Adam sorted through the different scents until he caught Tommy's. 

_Mate_ , it called to him and he began his chase. That way along a narrow path through the trees. A leap over a log. A brief stop at the base of an enormous tree to check out the bitter marker left by another animal. _Not a wolf_ , he thought, dismissing it and moving on. 

Adam was jumping over a fallen branch, when a glimpse of white fur and dark muzzle out of the corner of his eye had him twisting sideways mid-leap. He landed on a pile of leaves, paws crunching down loudly. 

Tommy was waiting for him at the other side of the small open area. He was sitting on his haunches, his head tilted to the left, his brown eyes bright with curiosity and amusement. Tommy's fur was white and pale grey, except his face, which was marked with dark grey and black fur around his eyes and on his muzzle. 

_Beautiful_ , Adam thought and, _Mine_ as he prowled into the clearing. He whuffed an invitation.

Tommy shook his head. 

Adam stalked closer, and then closer still. When he was within leaping distance, Tommy rose up and stretched. Adam watched him, admiring the ripple of muscles as Tommy's back arched, the teeth that were exposed when Tommy yawned. 

Tilting his head again, giving Adam a considering glance, Tommy barked once and was gone. 

Instead of chasing after him, Adam went to the spot where Tommy had been sitting. He nosed about in the undergrowth, rolled over and breathed in. It smelled so good, so perfect. _His_. Adam raised his muzzle to the sky and howled out his claim. Then he ran, following the scent. 

The trail went in this direction and that, zigzagging through the forest. Adam came close more than once, but somehow Tommy always managed to evade him. A few times, Tommy's scent faded away, forcing Adam to double-back, but he quickly found him again.

The moon was at her zenith when the trail Adam was following just disappeared. It dead-ended at a large rock. He sniffed the ground around the base, nosing through the underbrush, but Tommy hadn't gone either right or left. Backing up, he tried to see the top of the rock. Nothing. He'd have to get up there to be sure. Crouching down, he readied himself, and almost fell onto his ass when Tommy peered over the edge and barked at him.

 _Asshole_ , Adam barked. He could have fucking landed on top of the idiot. A fraction of a second later, Adam's body caught up with his mind and he jumped. 

Tommy was gone. A clump of white and grey fur was snagged on an outcropping, indicating that he'd taken off down the left hand trail. Adam started to follow, then returned to the split. A quick check of three different options sent him down the middle path. He yipped his success and grinned when Tommy returned his call from up ahead. He had to catch Tommy that night, Adam reminded himself, increasing his speed. No way he was waiting until the next full moon to claim his mate. 

Hours later, Adam crashed through some bushes into a clearing and flopped down with a huffed whine. He'd been going around in circles for ages, tracing an ever-narrowing spiral that was taking him closer and closer to the center of the forest. He'd been so damn sure that Tommy wanted him as much as he wanted Tommy, but fuck if he wasn't tired of chasing his tail. In fact, he was beginning to think that Tommy had no intention of being caught, being claimed that night. And if Adam didn't claim him very soon...

A grumbling growl vibrated through Adam's chest as he sat up. Maybe he'd been going about this all wrong? He cocked his head and considered his surroundings. The small open space was protected by tall trees whose branches nearly met overhead, providing only glimpses of the dark blue sky and the stars. The moon, now getting low in the sky, silvered some of the leaves in the lower branches. 

Did he have enough time left? Not to catch dinner.

Adam shoved the thought aside — he definitely didn't have enough time to worry — and gave into his instincts. He began to build a soft bed, using paws and teeth to gather soft moss and springy branches. When he was satisfied, he wandered the perimeter, slashing warning signs into the trunks with his claws and marking the territory as his. He went back to stand in the middle of the clearing and lift his head to sing out a mating call.

)()(

Wolfsong caught at Tommy's ears, wound its way around his heart, and he stopped in his tracks. _Adam_! He sniffed the air and called out his own response. Harmony and melody, their songs twined around each other, drawing Tommy closer and closer.

He could still feel the moon in the sky, was hyperaware of its waning influence, how close it was to setting, when he finally arrived at the area that Adam had made his own. He scented the ground at the base of a tree, lifted his leg to add his own mark, and slashed his claws across the lines carved by Adam in the wood. Then, slowly, carefully, quietly, he edged his way through the underbrush and low branches, peering intently at Adam.

Adam was in the middle of the clearing, his back to Tommy, sitting next to a clumsily made and comfortable looking bed. A stray moonbeam caught at his dark fur, causing it to gleam with red highlights. 

_Oh_ , Tommy thought, and _fuck yeah_ , and _mine_. At the last thought, he gathered his legs underneath him and pounced. 

He landed on Adam's back, and they tumbled over. Over and over, until they landed against a tree, facing each other. Tommy found himself staring into Adam's eyes, stormy blue and grey, and fuck, why had he run so long and so hard? 

His ears forward, his mouth open enough to show off his canine teeth, Adam just stood there and waited. Tommy leaned forward and cautiously sniffed at Adam's nose and muzzle. Adam still didn't fucking move; he just raised his head to give Tommy better access. He smelled so damn good. A shiver ran through Tommy. His fur bristled and then settled into sleekness. He tucked his tail in and wagged it to encourage Adam. 

_Your move_.

After an agonizingly long few seconds, Adam's ears pricked up and he arched his neck. Then, not looking away from Tommy's eyes, Adam rubbed his cheek and muzzle against Tommy's. 

A pleased, needful whine escaped from Tommy, and Adam moved to clamp his jaw over Tommy's. He was gentle, his teeth not piercing the skin, but determined and forceful. Tommy looked away, lowered his ears, showed as much submission as he could without hurting himself. 

Releasing him, Adam licked at Tommy's muzzle with gentle, loving strokes of his tongue. Tommy couldn't help but lean into the grooming.

Even as he enjoyed the attention, Tommy could feel the moon going down, feel its influence waning, time ticking past. Not long now. Not enough time. He extended his neck, rubbed against Adam's jaw.

Adam pushed Tommy's head down and went to nuzzle and sniff at the base of Tommy's tail. Tommy flipped his tail, pushed his ass up, and whined encouragement. 

_Yes_!

Before Tommy could blink, Adam was on him, straddling him. His weight so good, so perfect. Tommy shook his head and Adam's teeth clamped on the scruff of his neck, holding him still. Harder and harder, his teeth digging deeper and deeper. Hot blood seeped into Tommy's fur, the connection with Adam burned through him, and Tommy was claimed. 

And the full moon fell below the horizon.

Tommy's body stretched and twisted, pain and pleasure sizzling and combining, as his body snapped back together. 

He was lying on his stomach. Adam's blunt human teeth still digging into the base of his neck, and Adam's weight pressing his naked body into the stones and bits of twig and plant that littered the ground. "Ow, fuck," Tommy muttered. 

Letting go of his neck, Adam licked the skin gently, raising goosebumps down Tommy's back, before he said, "Baby?" 

"Hurts." Tommy considered shoving upwards with his ass, trying to dislodge Adam, but decided he might just end up scraping himself up. "You're, like, fucking heavy, you know, and this isn't exactly a bed at the Ritz." 

Adam snickered, but he got up carefully and helped Tommy to his feet. Then, proving that he was the best fucking alpha in like ever, Adam went to his knees and brushed the bits and pieces of crap from Tommy's skin. His arms, his chest, his legs. Gentle touches that made Tommy want more, arcing through him, settling in his balls and at the base of his rapidly hardening dick. "Adam", he groaned.

But that made things worse — and better. Once Tommy's skin was clean, Adam replaced his fingers with his mouth. Pressing, sucking, licking kisses up and down Tommy's skin until he had to grab at Adam's shoulders to keep his balance. 

"Tommy," Adam murmured. He nuzzled into the crease of Tommy's thigh, sucked blood to the surface of the skin next to his balls. 

"Fuck." Extending the vowel, drawing it out, almost sighing it, Tommy bit into his lower lip to shut himself up. 

But then Adam stood up in one swift move, slipping one arm beneath Tommy's knees and the other behind his back, lifting him up in his arms in a dizzying swoop. Tommy grabbed for Adam, clutched at his arms, and pressed his forehead into Adam's shoulder. 

When he felt steady again, Tommy thumped the side of his fist against Adam's chest. "Put me the fuck down, asshole." 

Adam's laugh was warm and infectious enough to make Tommy smile.

"Asshole," he repeated, tucking his nose into Adam's neck and just breathed him in. For a couple of breaths, at least, then he nipped the sensitive skin, making Adam yelp.

"Fine. Fuck, what is wrong with you?" Adam let Tommy down until his bare feet were on the ground. The rough fucking ground that had Tommy's toes curling in protest. "Do you want to walk all the way back?"

"Shit. Where the fuck are we, anyway?" Tommy pushed a hand through his hair, scattering bits of stuff he didn't even want to think about. "What the hell was I thinking last night?"

"You wanted—" Adam pulled Tommy up against him "—to make me earn my reward—" he nuzzled into the skin near the still-sensitive bite "—and I don't think—" he slid his lips up to Tommy's ear "—I want to wait any longer."

And then Adam was cupping his hands around Tommy's jaw, licking into him. He claimed Tommy again with tongue and teeth and a kiss that only made Tommy push against him, wanting more of his taste, his smell, of Adam. He shifted closer until they were skin to skin, Adam's dick pressing into Tommy's hipbone, Tommy's dick digging into Adam's thigh. Adam slid a leg between Tommy's, and Tommy almost panted in Adam's mouth as the crinkly hair on Adam's thigh brushed against the underside of Tommy's balls. 

"Mine," Adam murmured against Tommy's lips. His hands glided down Tommy's back, curled under his ass, and pulled him up. Rising higher onto his toes, Tommy looped his arms around Adam's shoulders and held on. 

They thrust and rubbed, heat building between them. Tommy lifted one of his legs and curled it around Adam's hip, needing more, wanting to ease the ache that was opening up inside him, only to be grabbed by Adam and held tight to his side. A growl reverberated through Adam's chest, almost loud enough to drown out the sound of engines growing closer. 

Standing beside Adam, Tommy was immediately on the alert. His hackles raised, his teeth and fingernails on the edge of shifting into canines and claws, he cursed whoever the fuck had interrupted them. 

The engines slowed down to an idle. Boots crunched over leaves and underbrush, and then a bag came sailing through the trees to land on the ground at their feet. 

"Put some clothes on, please," Isaac called out. "I think poor Neil here would appreciate it, if no one else." 

Relief coursing through him, Tommy snickered as he whispered to Adam, "Who the fuck is Neil?"

"My brother," Adam said, "and I don't want either of them seeing you like this." 

Tommy opened his mouth to object, but realized that he didn't want anyone seeing Adam naked either. Not right now, at least. He frowned and muttered, "Huh," as he took the clothes Adam handed him. 

Within no time at all, they were dressed and Tommy was slipping his bare feet into his old chucks. He took the hand that Adam held out to him, and, the back of his t-shirt and hoodie irritating the fuck out of his claiming bite, Tommy walked out to see who was waiting for them.

)()(

The trip back to the house, balancing on the back of an ATV behind his brother while Tommy clung to Isaac on the other ATV, was pretty much the worst thing ever, Adam decided. At least Tommy was with another beta. If he'd gotten on the back of Neil's ATV, Adam was pretty sure there would have been bloodshed. At least it didn't take long. They'd been much closer to the house than Adam had imagined.

As soon as they came to a halt, Adam jumped off the back of the ATV, not even waiting for Neil to shut off the engine. He grabbed Tommy's hand, barely able to stop himself from picking him up in his arms, and then ran for the house. 

"Fucking long legged ass." Tommy huffed, tugging on Adam's hand. "Slow down. Not everyone's stupid tall, you know."

Grinning, Adam tugged back and hauled Tommy up the steps. "Come on," he said, not stopping as they burst through the front door, ran past the people in the foyer, and up the stairs. As soon as they were inside his room, he spun around and hugged Tommy. He caressed Tommy's back with his hands, rubbed his cheek against the side of Tommy's head, and buried his nose in Tommy's hair. 

When the urgent need to mark Tommy eased enough, Adam pulled back and smiled down at him. "Hi."

Tommy's mouth curled up in a lopsided smile. "Hi," he said, then slapped Adam's ass. "You're crazy, you know."

"Yeah," Adam said, his smile widening as the joy inside him grew, "I know."

He bent his head and kissed Tommy, pulling back just enough to slide a hand between them and pull down the zipper on Tommy's hoodie. "Too many clothes," he muttered against Tommy's lips. 

"You too," Tommy said, his mouth moving against Adam's. His fingers trailed the skin just above the waistband of Adam's jeans.

Sharp edged need sliced through Adam, and he yanked Tommy's hoodie off. The sleeves got caught at Tommy's elbows, and they both started struggling with clothes. Laughing as they got in each others' way, tripped over their shoes and half-removed pants, they finally — oh, fucking finally — were naked again. 

Adam took a moment to breathe in Tommy, to look at him from head to toe. Bright and dark colored ink against pale skin, blond hair showing dark at the roots and where he needed to shave his skull again. Lean muscles wrapped around fine bones. And _his_.

He stepped forward, pulled Tommy up against him, wanting to feel him, to touch his soft skin, wrap his hands over Tommy's hips and his tiny ass. It wasn't enough, nowhere near enough. He picked Tommy up, laughing at his protests, and threw him on the bed. Tommy bounced a little, called him a brute and told him to fuck off, but he was smiling too much for Adam to do anything but crawl onto the bed and up between Tommy's legs. And when he was there, he bent down, nuzzled into the soft skin of Tommy's balls, licked up Tommy's rapidly hardening dick. The scent, the taste, _Tommy_ sent need burning through him.

"I can't wait," he said, his voice rough and hoarse. He stretched out over Tommy, rubbed his dick against Tommy's. "Can't go slow." 

"So don't." Tommy wrapped his legs around Adam's thighs. "What the fuck gives you the idea that I want slow or gentle or any of that shit right now? Your bite's like fire in my veins. Finish it!" The last two words were half-order and half-plea, and they shot through Adam like lightning.

Adam sat back on his heels and just stared down at Tommy. For a moment, he considered giving in to both of their needs and just fucking doing it. But he didn't want to, couldn't hurt Tommy. Cursing under his breath, Adam reached over to the bedside table, stretching awkwardly, wishing he was an inch or two taller, as he struggled to get the drawer out far enough to snag the lube. The drawer fell to the floor with a crash, spilling everything, but Adam pushed himself upright in triumph, lube clutched in one hand. 

Every word, every thought, everything but want and need evaporated as Tommy spread his legs and exposed himself. Adam hummed something, a note, a chord, as he thumbed open the lube. Then, slicking up his fingers, he licked the pre-come damp tip of Tommy's dick and pressed a finger inside him. Tommy was tight and hot, and Adam's dick fucking ached. 

The second finger made things tighter, hotter. His mouth still on Tommy's dick, Adam pressed his fingers in deeper and crooked them just so.

Tommy's back arched. He tried to pull his legs open wider, push up into Adam's mouth, and bear down on his fingers at the same time. "Adam, fuck," he begged.

"Soon," Adam promised, twisting his fingers, stretching Tommy before adding a third. Then, when Tommy was rotating his hips, fucking himself on Adam's fingers, making noises that weren't quite words, he pulled out and slicked up his dick. 

"Fuck, Adam, what are you even—" 

Tommy's words dissolved into a whine as Adam thrust into him. He couldn't take it slow, didn't try to do anything but bury himself balls deep in Tommy's heat, his body, his need. And Tommy took him, drew him in, twisted his hips until Adam was even deeper inside him. 

"Baby." Adam breathed the word, a little like love, a lot like a prayer. 

He leaned down to kiss Tommy, and Tommy's legs slipped off his shoulders to hang off his arms. Tommy licked at his lips, and Adam had to move. In and out, harder and faster, as they kissed and nipped and sucked at each other. As Tommy dug his fingers into Adam's arms deep enough to bruise, and Adam grabbed onto Tommy's hips hard enough to leave marks. Adam thought vaguely that he should jerk Tommy off, but then Tommy's dick bumped over Adam's stomach and ribs, and Adam's dick slid over Tommy's prostate. 

Licking his way down Tommy's jaw and neck, Adam worried at the base of Tommy's throat with his teeth. He tasted the salt of Tommy's sweat, the coppery sweetness of his blood. 

Tommy clutched at him, digging his heels into Adam's back, writhing, nearly incoherent. Tommy's head went back and his body arched upwards. He swore hard and loud, in words that slurred together into a long musical whine, as he came, marking Adam's skin.

And Adam was lost. Blood and heat rushed through his veins. He knew nothing but Tommy, feeling him, filled by him, filling him. He breathed out an aching sigh, a single note, as his dick widened at the base. His knot stretched Tommy's ass wide open, locking them together and drawing a long "Fuck" from Tommy.

It was enough and not enough. He raised his head and looked into Tommy's eyes, felt him and kissed him. No longer able to thrust, Adam ground into Tommy, pulsing his release with each tiny rocking movement of his hips, and Tommy welcomed each one, kissing him back, sliding his fingers into Adam's hair. 

They lay there for long minutes until Adam felt his knot ease and his dick start to soften and slip out of Tommy. He opened his mouth, intending to say something meaningful.

But Tommy smirked at him, and he growled "Mine," and he bit at Adam's neck with sharp teeth, breaking the skin and leaving his own mark. And that, Adam decided, was perfect.

)()(

**5\. The way we're made**

Tommy walked into his old bedroom at home. It was almost impossible to believe that he'd barely been gone a week. It felt like a lifetime ago. But here he was, standing in front of the bed he'd slept in for so many years and once again blinking at the comforter and trying to make sense of a swirl of pale colors.

"No fucking way," Tommy said and backed away from it. "I am so not wearing that. I'd look like a fucking ice cream cone."

"Tommy." Lisa sighed his name. "You're presenting Adam to the pack. Every beta for—"

"I don't give a shit. The answer's still no."

"Fine, but you're not wearing jeans."

"Why the fuck not?" 

"Because—" Throwing up her hands, Lisa shook her head. "You know what? You're totally not my problem anymore." She sauntered to the door, kissing Tommy on the cheek as she went past. 

He turned to watch her, a smile tugging at his lips as he saw Adam leaning against the doorjamb. 

"Enjoy," Lisa said, patting Adam on the arm. "Just make sure he's presentable and doesn't give the elders a heart attack again."

Stepping into the room, Adam closed the door behind him and dropped a bag on the floor by his feet. "Why do I think you've had that argument before?"

Tommy rolled his eyes and went to give Adam a kiss. It was supposed to be short and sweet, but turned into a breath-stealing suck of lips and tongue. "Mmmm," he hummed when it was over. "Just so you know," he said into Adam's throat, "nothing you do can make me wear that thing."

"Why the fuck would I want you to do that? No amount of glitter or leather could make it wearable." Adam kicked his bag out of the way. "Leather and lace, baby. We're going to do this on our terms."

Raising his head, holding onto Adam's biceps and leaning back so he could look into Adam's eyes, Tommy grinned at him. "You are totally my favorite. You know that, right?"

Adam's laugh filled the room as Tommy leaned into his hug. He could feel Adam, deep under his skin, a comforting presence between Tommy and the pack, protecting him and keeping them all safe. He could do this, he thought, not for the first time, and let himself be held.


End file.
